Japan national football team has announced the final 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup. The 26 names are known three weeks prior to the Japanese team’s first game in Qatar.
The World Cup’s final roster of players must be submitted to FIFA by November 14 at the latest. Long before that deadline, Japan’s head coach Hajime Moriyasu had already selected and made public his 26-man team. Ritsu Doan, a former PSV player, is one of the athletes travelling to Qatar.
“Our goal is to reach at least the quarterfinals,” declared the national coach, who did not choose veteran Genki Haraguchi, among other players. Doan is one of the players with the desired “burning ambition,” as Moriyasu described his motivation for this 26-year-old. “But it won’t be simple, I’m afraid,” he added.
On November 23, Japan will face off against Germany before moving on to face Spain and Costa Rica in the group stage.
“We are in the best group,” according to Hajime Moriyasu, the Japan national team’s coach.
“The Japanese national team’s objective is to claim the World Cup by the year 2050. We get a sense of what we are capable of and where we fall short by playing against the best nation in the world. In my opinion, getting there will be crucial.
“It is the presence of players with individual strength who are capable of competing at the international level.
“When I say “individual,” I don’t just mean power or aptitude. I perceive that we may connect because,” Moriyasu concluded.
Japan national football team 26-man squad
Goalkeepers: Shuichi Gonda of Shimizu S-Pulse, Daniel Schmidt of Sint-Truiden, Eiji Kawashima of Strasbourg
Defenders: Hiroki Sakai of Urawa Red Diamonds, Miki Yamane of Kawasaki Frontale, Ko Itakura of Borussia Mönchengladbach, Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal, Maya Yoshida of Schalke 04, Shogo Taniguchi of Kawasaki Frontale, Hiroki Ito of VfB Stuttgart Yuto Nagatomo of FC Tokyo, Yuta Nakayama of Huddersfield Town
Midfielders: Junya Ito of Stade de Reims, Ritsu Doan of SC Freiburg, Wataru Endo of VfB Stuttgart, Hidemasa Morita of Sporting, Ao Tanaka of Fortuna Dusseldorf, Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt, Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad , Takumi Minamino of AS Monaco, Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion, Gaku Shibasaki of Leganes, Yuki Soma of Nagoya Grampus
Forwards: Daizen Maeda of Celtic, Ayase Ueda of Cercle Brugge, Takuma Asano of Vfl Bochum
