Japan announce their final 26-man squad for the World Cup

Japanese head coach Hajime Moriyasu has announced his final 26-man squad which will travel to Qatar for FIFA World Cup 2022. Japan became the first of 32 teams to announce their team squad for the upcoming world cup on Tuesday.

In 2002, when Japan was co-hosting the FIFA World Cup, they registered their best performance where they finished 9th. At the 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup, Japan equaled their previous best but failed to register a new best for themselves. This time, Japan would be eager to smash all the best performances in the past.

They have been drawn in Group E which is said to be the toughest group at FIFA World Cup 2022. Japan is accompanied by Costa Rica, Spain and Germany. With two world champions in the group, it is going to be a daunting task for Japan to make it to the Round of 16. Japan’s entry into round of 16 means Spain or Germany missing out their place in knockouts.

The Samurai Blue will begin their campaign against Germany on 23rd November at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan. Then they will travel to Ahmad bin Ali stadium to face Costa Rica on 27th November 2022. The final group stage match will be against Spain on 1st December 2022 at Khalifa International Stadium.

Goalkeepers:

Shuichi Gonda
Daniel Schmidt
Eiji Kawashima

Defenders:

Miki Yamane
Hiroki Sakai
Maya Yoshida
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Shogo Taniguchi
Ko Itakura
Junya Ito
Yuto Nagatomo
Yuta Nakayama

Midfielders:

Wataru Endo
Hidemasa Morita
Ao Tanaka
Gaku Shibasaki
Kaoru Mitoma
Daichi Kamada
Ritsu Doan
Junya Ito
Takumi Minamino
Takefusa Kubo
Yuki Soma

Forwards:

Daizen Maeda
Takuma Asano
Ayase Ueda