When Japan travels to Qatar for the World Cup, they will participate in it for the seventh time, hoping to advance further than they did in 2018.
Japan defeated Colombia to advance from the group stage and become the first Asian team to defeat a South American team. However, they were defeated by Belgium in the Round of 16 and were thus eliminated for the third time at that stage.
Japan will need to perform at their peak if they want to extend their stay in Qatar after being placed in the challenging Group E with Spain, Germany, and Costa Rica.
Japan confirmed squad for the World Cup
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima, Daniel Schmidt, Shuichi Gonda
Defenders: Takehiro Tomiyasu, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Miki Yamane, Ko Itakura, Shogo Taniguchi, Hiroki Ito, Yuto Nagatomo
Midfielders: Ritsu Doan, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Hidemasa Morita, Ao Tanaka, Gaku Shibasaki, Daichi Kamada, Takefusa Kubo, Kaoru Mitoma, Takumi Minamino, Yuki Soma
Forwards: Daizen Maeda, Ayase Ueda, Takuma Asano, Shuto Machino
The only confirmed absence for Japan is centre back Yuta Nakayama of Huddersfield Town, but manager Hajime Moriyasu took many chances with his final 26-man squad. Famous athletes like Takuma Asano and Ko Itakura, as well as Takefusa Kubo and Ao Tanaka, are currently sidelined due to injuries. It will be interesting to see if any of them are pressured to leave.
Who are Japan’s best players?
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu, who became well-known after joining Arsenal, will be in charge at the other end of the field. Although he primarily plays fullback for his club team, he plays centre back for Japan the majority of the time.
Daichi Kamada
Daichi Kamada, from Frankfurt, whose been among Europe’s best performers this season, is largely responsible for Japan’s creativity. In 22 games, he has 7 goals and 3 assists for his nation.
Ritsu Doan
After spending several enjoyable years at PSV Eindhoven, winger Ritsu Doan decided to join Freiburg in the summer. In 29 times for his country, he has scored three goals.
Takefusa Kubo
Takefusa Kubo, who is still only 21 years old, is a crucial player for his nation. Kubo, who was once dubbed the Japanese Messi, scored his 1st goal for Japan this summer during a friendly match against Ghana.
The East Asian Football Championship games and friendlies have taken up most of Japan’s time, and they have both been enjoyable experiences. Other than friendly losses to Tunisia and Brazil, Japan has had a great 2022. They enter this match riding a five-game winning streak during which they defeated the USA and drew Ecuador, two excellent World Cup warm-up games.
Japan is a good team that just so happens to have been placed in a group with two titanic opponents. In many other groups, you’d bet on them to advance, but in this one, they’ll probably need a victory over either Spain or Germany to advance, and that seems like too much of a step for Moriyasu’s team. Expect Japan to lose, but they should defeat Costa Rica and put themselves in a position to face Spain in a shootout in the third game.
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