Ala'a Hubail bagged the only goal of the game in the second-half to give the Gulf side maximum points from their first two games and send them three points clear at the top of Group Two.

Hubail, the joint top goalscorer at the 2004 Asian Cup, netted his second goal of the Asian qualifiers, having scored the winner in last month's 1-0 victory in Oman.

The home side started the game slowly, but signalled their intent when Sayed Mohamed Adnan tested Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi with a powerful shot from long range.

They went close again three minutes after the break. Salman Issa sent over a cross from the left which Kawaguchi dropped in front of Abdulla Omar, who somehow slammed the ball against the crossbar.

But Bahrain were not to be denied in the 77th minute as Ismaeel Abdullatif ran on to a long pass on the left flank and sent in a cross which should have been easily cleared by Kawaguchi.

Hubail though got his head to the ball first and sent a looping header into the far right corner, despite the desperate efforts of Yuji Nakazawa to clear the ball.

Japan missed a glorious chance to snatch a point in the final minute when Seiichiro Maki went through one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

But instead of shooting himself he opted to pass to Satoru Yamagishi, who rolled the ball into an empty net only to see the goal ruled out for offside.