We’re a little late with this one, seeing that the roster drop was nearly ten days ago. But as the Netherlands will be announcing their final roster sometime this week, it seemed like a good time to review Japan’s selection.
The Blue Samurai had the bad luck of being drawn into Group F with the aforementioned Dutch, Sweden and Tunisia. It’s one of the World Cup’s Groups of Death, and while they’ll feel confident of moving on, it won’t be easy.
In light of this reality, manager Hajime Moriyasu opted to go with experience in all four major positions, leaving some young stars out. Injuries also played a role, particularly in the attacking selections, which we’ll highlight below.
Goalkeepers
- Zion Suzuki (Parma)
- Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
- Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers)
Zion is a shoo-in to be Japan’s first choice between the sticks. He’s been their regular starter since 2022, and is rock solid despite being 23 years old. The Parma keeper is a phenomenal player and will no doubt have plenty of action during the group stages. The two backups both play domestically in the J-league.
Defenders
- Ko Itakura (Ajax)
- Hiroki Ito (Bayern München)
- Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)
- Ayumu Seko (Le Havre)
- Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen)
- Junnosuke Suzuki (FC København)
- Shogo Taniguchi (St.Truiden)
- Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax)
- Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord)
Let’s give props to Yuto Nagatomo. The diminutive (5’7”) defender becomes the first Asian player to be selected for five World Cups! At 39 years old, it’s unclear whether he’ll touch the pitch as a starter, but a cameo appearance is certainly likely.
Feyenoord’s Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Bayern’s Hiroko Ito are the likely center-back pairing, but the other selected players all have previous national team experience and can slot into what will be a challenging back line to break. One head-scratching selection was former Arsenal player Takehiro Tommiyasu, who only featured in seven matches for Ajax.
Midfielders
- Wataru Endo (Liverpool)
- Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace)
- Kaishu Sano (Mainz 05)
- Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg)
- Ao Tanaka (Leeds United)
It’s a seasoned crew that will hold the midfield. The Premier League is well represented, with Endo, Kamada and Tanaka the likely starting three. Endo was injured back in February, but is expected to be full recovered.
Watch out for Yuito Suzuki, a sparky 24-year old who recently joined Freiburg and will be an attacking threat. One notable omission is Sporting CP star Hidemasa Morita, whose ACL injury earlier this year ruled him out of the squad.
Attackers
- Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt)
- Keisuke Goto (St.Truiden)
- Junya Ito (Genk)
- Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad)
- Daizen Maeda (Celtic)
- Keito Nakamura (Reims)
- Koki Ogawa (NEC Nijmegen)
- Kento Shiogai (Wolfsburg)
- Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord)
Japan suffered a double whammy when wingers Kaoru Mitoma and Takumi Minamino both suffered last season injuries which ruled out of the tournament.
Their flair and drive will be sorely missed, but Takefusa Kubo, a dangerous right winger from Real Sociedad, will fill in with little fidelity loss. Keito Nakamura doesn’t play in a top-flight league, but he scores crucial goals for club and country. Look for him to make an impact on that left side. Ayase Ueda punched in 25 goals for Feyenoord last season, making him the clear target of the Japanese attack.
Kento Shiogai and Koki Ogawa are the “babies” of the squad, at 21 and 20 years respectively. Expect them to see limited minutes and only enter the pitch in the closing moments when fresh legs are needed.
