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.
“I was able to select only 26 players, but I feel sorry that I couldn’t select many other players. However, I selected these 26 based on their past performances and through conversations with the coaching staff, believing that this is our best squad right now. I think I have chosen the best 26 players in order for Japan to win on the world stage at this moment.”
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.
Drawn in Group F, Japan begin their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands in Dallas before a trip to Mexico to face Tunisia and then a return to Dallas for the section closer against Sweden.
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
All squads are provisional until the final list of 26 players is announced by FIFA, following their submission by participating teams, on 2 June.
