Japan Announces Official Squad for the World Cup

Today, the head coach of the Japanese national football team announced the official squad of 26 players selected to compete in the 2026 World Cup finals, which will begin next month.

The list witnessed a strong shock to the "Blue Samurai" plans after it was confirmed that the flying winger and Brighton's star, Kaoru Mitoma, would be absent due to a recent injury that prevented him from participating in the World Cup.

On the other hand, the coach surprised everyone by calling up the veteran defender Yuto Nagatomo (a player for Tokyo FC) to benefit from his extensive experience in leading the team both in the locker room and on the field.

The list, dominated by professionals in European fields, is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Zion Suzuki (Parma), Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima).

Defense line: Yuto Nagatomo (Tokyo), Shogo Taniguchi (Sint-Truiden), Ko Itakura (Ajax), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax), Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), Ayumu Seko (Le Havre), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen), Junosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen).

Midfield and attack: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Junya Ito (Genk), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Koki Ogawa (NEC Nijmegen), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Ritsu Doan (Frankfurt), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Kito Nakamura (Stade Reims), Kaishu Sano (Mainz), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg), Kento Shiogai (Wolfsburg), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden).

It is worth mentioning that the draw placed the Japanese national team in the tough Group F, alongside the teams of the Netherlands, Sweden, and Tunisia, where the Samurai aspire to repeat their strong performances.