Head coach Hajime Moriyasu has named his 26-strong squad that will head to next month’s FIFA World Cup 2026™, with the injured Kaoru Mitoma the headline omission.
Moriyasu has opted to roll the dice on several players either currently injured or those having just returned, with Wataru Endo, Ko Itakura and Takehiro Tomiyasu all included. There was though no place for arguably the team’s most influential player in the injured Brighton forward Mitoma or Takumi Minamino.
Elsewhere, it is a group heavy on experience, with veteran defender Yuto Nagatomo named for what will be his fifth outing at the global finals.
Speaking during the squad unveiling, Moriyasu said that, in spite of the injury absences, his belief hasn’t wavered that Japan are set to cause a major stir in North America.
Aiming to become the first non-European or South American nation to win the global showpiece, Japan enter the tournament in imperious form. Having felled both Germany and Spain four years ago at Qatar 2022, over the past twelve months the team has drawn with co-hosts Mexico on neutral soil, rolled Brazil at home as well as England on the road.
Japan’s World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers:
-Tomoki Hayakawa-Keisuke Osako-Zion Suzuki
Defenders:
-Ko Itakura-Hiroki Ito-Yuto Nagatomo-Ayumu Seko-Yukinari Sugawara-Junnosuke Suzuki-Shogo Taniguchi-Takehiro Tomiyasu-Tsuyoshi Watanabe
Midfielders:
-Ritsu Doan-Wataru Endo-Junya Ito-Daichi Kamada-Takefusa Kubo-Keito Nakamura-Kaishu Sano-Ao Tanaka
Forwards:
-Keisuke Goto-Daizen Maeda-Koki Ogawa-Kento Shiogai-Yuito Suzuki-Ayase Ueda
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