The Japan World Cup 2026 squad has been named by head coach Hajime Moriyasu.
Japan go into World Cup 2026 as one of the dark horses, with one of the most exciting squads at the tournament: that's something that would have seemed like a fever dream when the Far East hosted the 2002 tournament, but just a couple of decades on and Japanese football is thriving… as England found out in a March friendly.
Liverpool's Wataru Endo captains alongside Premier League rivals Daichi Kamada and Ai Tanaka in midfield, with Ko Itakura and Hiroki Ito behind – and it's a lovely sight to see Takehiro Tomiyasu overcome his injury hell of the last couple of years to return to a squad that he more than deserves his place in.
The attack, however, has taken a significant blow: Kaoru Miroma will miss the tournament through injury after suffering a hamstring injury for Brighton & Hove Albion, in what is absolutely gutting news for the Samurai Blue.
Hidemasa Morita won't be going to the tournament either, despite leading Sporting to a Champions League quarter-final, while Takumi Minamino ruptured his left knee anterior cruciate ligament and hasn't recovered in time.
Mitoma may well be his nation's best player, but there are stars waiting to step up in his absence: Ayase Ueda, Ritsu Doan and one-time Galactico and La Masia product Takefusa Kubo are all exciting attackers in their own right.
This tournament has also come a little soon for talented youngsters Kota Tawaratsumida and Sota Kitano, the latter of whom was compared to Hidetoshi Nakata and Keisuke Honda in a FourFourTwo scout report.
Squad
Japan World Cup 2026 squad: The final selection
- GK: Zion Suzuki (Parma)
- GK: Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
- GK: Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers)
- DF: Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)
- DF: Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax)
- DF: Ko Itakura (Ajax)
- DF: Shogo Taniguchi (Sint-Truiden)
- DF: Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich)
- DF: Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen)
- DF: Ayumu Seko (Le Havre)
- DF: Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord)
- DF: Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen)
- MF: Wataru Endo (Liverpool)
- MF: Junya Ito (Genk)
- MF: Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt)
- MF: Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace)
- MF: Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad)
- MF: Ao Tanaka (Leeds United)
- MF: Keito Nakamura (Reims)
- MF: Kaishu Sano (Mainz 05)
- FW: Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord)
- FW: Daizen Maeda (Celtic)
- FW: Koki Ogawa (NEC)
- FW: Yuito Suzuki (SC Freiburg)
- FW: Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden)
- FW: Kento Shiogai (VfL Wolfsburg)
Fixtures and results
Fixtures
- June 14, 2026: Netherlands vs Japan, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States
- June 21, 2026: Tunisia vs Japan, Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico
- June 26, 2026: Japan vs Sweden, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States
Results
- March 31, 2026: England 0-1 Japan, Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
- March 28, 2026: Scotland 0-1 Japan, Hampden Park, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- November 18, 2025: Japan 3-0 Bolivia, Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
- November 14, 2025: Japan 2-0 Ghana, Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan
- October 14, 2025: Japan 3-2 Brazil, Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
- October 10, 2025: Japan 2-2 Paraguay, Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe, Japan
- September 10, 2025: USA 2-0 Japan, Lower.com Field, Columbus, United States
- September 07, 2025: Mexico 0-0 Japan, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, United States
- July 15, 2025: South Korea 0-1 Japan, Yong-in Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea
- July 12, 2025: Japan 2-0 China, Yong-in Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea
- July 08, 2025: Japan 6-1 Hong Kong, Yong-in Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea
- June 10, 2025: Japan 6-0 Indonesia, Panasonic Stadium Suita, Suita, Japan
- June 05, 2025: Australia 1-0 Japan, Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia
- March 25, 2025: Japan 0-0 Saudi Arabia, Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan
- March 20, 2025: Japan 2-0 Bahrain, Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan
Manager
Who is Japan's manager?
World Cup 2026 in the United States, Mexico and Canada will be the second World Cup in charge for Hajime Moriyasu, who has masterminded back-to-back away wins against Scotland and England in the final international fixtures before he names his tournament squad.
Japan beat both Spain and Germany in Qatar before they were knocked out on penalties by Croatia in the round of 16. Moriyasu has a tremendous record when it comes to seeing off big-name opposition and is keen that his team be seen more as dark horses than underdogs on the world stage.
As the manager of Japan's under-23s until 2021, he former Sanfrecce Hiroshima boss is familiar with the generation players who hope to achieve that with him.
Star player
Who is Japan's star player?
Ritsu Doan starred on the wing against England at Wembley and had a huge impact at World Cup 2022, scoring the equalising goals against both Germany and Spain off the bench as Japan secured comeback wins in the group stage.
The former Gamba Osaka junior joined Eintracht Frankfurt from Freiburg last summer after playing in the Netherlands for Groningen and PSV.
After a blistering start to the Bundesliga season, he reached the March international break with six goals in all competitions for his new club and with a sizeable share of a nation's World Cup hopes at his feet.
