World Cup interview with Coach Moriyasu: “Minamino will be accompanied as a mentor” live appearance, uncut[Hoso Station](May 15, 2026)

Coach Hajime Moriyasu has announced the members of Japan’s World Cup squad. Japan National Soccer National Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “There are 26 players to choose from, and there are literally hundreds of players who couldn’t be selected, so I always feel that their thoughts and hearts are there.It’s an opportunity to announce the players to choose, but I’ve already heard a lot about the players who weren’t chosen.” (Q. What was your philosophy for choosing these 26 players?) Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “The current best.As the Japan national team competes in the World Cup, I selected the 26 players who I believe have the best chance of winning.I believe they are the current best.” Half of the 26 players selected, 13, were selected for the first time. Major players who were not selected include Kaoru Mitoma and Takumi Minamino. (Q. Mitoma was not selected for the selection due to an injury just the other day. Does this hurt?) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “No matter who plays, we win, no matter who plays, it works, and we have played with the collective strength of the team.He was a player who could make a difference, so that is a pain for the team as well.However, he was putting his heart into this World Cup more than anything, so thinking about that situation makes me really sad as well.” (Q. What have you talked about lately?) Japan National Soccer National Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “We talked once. There, we both shared his thoughts and what we saw in his thoughts. We talked about how we will all do our best for Kaoru, along with the players we have selected.” (Q. What do you think, Mr. Uchida?) Atsuto Uchida: “Of course, I think that Mitoma has a great influence on the team, but in building the team, rather than relying too much on one player, I think it’s a problem that the whole team must overcome.” (Q. In terms of position, Mitoma was in a position on the left side near the goal…what kind of players would you use?) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “I’m thinking about the fact that Daenen Maeda, Keito Nakamura, and Keisuke Goto can also play in the second row.There are many players who can play multiple positions, so I think we can compete as a team by thinking of various ways to play.” (Q. Minamino is another player who couldn’t be selected due to injury) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “That’s right. Takumi is also a player who embodies the team’s concept, so I wanted to play with him on the World Cup stage.Due to injury, I couldn’t select him as a player, but I’m currently making adjustments so that he can accompany the team in a different way.”Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “To put it simply, I’m thinking of asking him to accompany the team as a supporter and mentor, and to support the team while doing his rehabilitation well.”That’s what Argentina did at the last World Cup. I’m not trying to imitate him, but he also came at his own expense to support the team during the England tour in March, and he also wants to compete with the team in any way possible, so we’re currently negotiating.” (Q. Captain Wataru Endo was unable to return this season, but was called up. Is it safe to assume that he will be able to make it in time?) Japan National Soccer National Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “Even before the surgery, I was told that the plan was to have it done in time, and if everything went well, I was told by the medical team that I would definitely be able to participate in the World Cup.I have been called up because I can confirm that he has been able to rehabilitate smoothly and is improving his condition.” Atsuto Uchida: “From the player’s side, the fact that he hasn’t been injured means that he hasn’t played at full capacity for a season, so he has some energy left over.I was like that, but I think it’s not bad to be able to go into the World Cup with motivation and wanting to play soccer.Therefore, there’s a period where you can properly adjust to your condition, so I’m not too worried.” (Q. What was the purpose of announcing the squad without waiting for the end of the Europa League?) Japan National Soccer National Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “Of course we thought about making the announcement at the end of the players’ season, but then we wouldn’t know the off schedule of the players who weren’t selected.Even if it was a week earlier, we’ve been watching the players for a long time.We decided to make the decision based on that. Now that all the medical checks and technical checks have been completed, if something unexpected happens, I think it would be better for the players to think about replacing it, and it would give the players peace of mind and calm down, and we could also think about it in preparation for the World Cup.” (Q. What do you expect from Nagatomo, who will be playing in his fifth appearance?) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “He is the most dazzling on the pitch. I want him to show that spirit and play from practice.Everyone will be drawn to him, and his experience will encourage everyone and calm him down, so I want Nagatomo to demonstrate his “presence” both on and off the pitch.” Japan is in Group F. We will be competing against the Netherlands, Tunisia, and Sweden. (Q: Our first opponent is the Netherlands, which has the highest ranking.) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “I think the Netherlands is one of the best talented groups in the world.They really have great individual strength, so I think we have to fight without letting each one of us be free.We have to analyze our opponent and take countermeasures, but first of all, I think it’s important to see how thoroughly we can share our basic concepts and whether we can improve our physical condition.” (Q. Coach Shunsuke Nakamura has joined the team, what do you expect from him?) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “First of all, I think his words will make everyone think in a positive way about everything.I hope that we, the coaching staff, will be able to give advice based on what we have done in the past to further increase our chances of winning, and I would like the players to be given advice that will give them the confidence to compete on the world stage.” (Q. After the match against the Netherlands, we will continue with Tunisia and Sweden, but what do you think of playing against each team?) Japan National Soccer National Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “As for the Netherlands, I’m just imagining it, but I think we’ll be under pressure for a long time, so we’ll have to fight tenaciously and keep in mind that our opponents won’t like Japan’s defense, so we’ll want to be able to outplay them, and we’ll want to create chances even in that situation.” Japan National Soccer National Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “Tunisia is a team that made it through the qualifying rounds without conceding a goal.Even though the coach has changed, I don’t think our strong defense and fast attacks will change, so I hope we can break down our strong defense and manage our risks well so that we can score and avoid counter-attacks.”Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “As for Sweden, I think they are similar to Tunisia. However, they are a team that is tall and very mobile, so we have to make sure not to let their individual strengths show through, and they have a world-class striker, so we hope to be able to stop them and allow us to move on to attack.” (Q. In the warm-up games, they sometimes defeated strong teams. Until now, they had a hard time making it past the top 16, but do you feel that Japan will be different this time?) Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “I think we can go into the World Cup with confidence that we can beat an opponent we haven’t beaten before, even though it was a friendly match.However, the players are also very calm, saying, “Just because we won the friendly match doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll win in the official match.”The players are really confident and are preparing to aim for even greater heights, so I think we can put up a good fight at the World Cup.”Japan National Soccer Team Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “But most of all, the people who have been watching us play have the feeling that we can win at the Japan World Cup, and they are expanding their circle of support, so I would like to receive that power as we take on the World Cup.”
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