Moriyasu Names Japan's Final 26 for the World Cup: Kubo at the Tip of the Spear, Nagatomo Makes History
Hajime Moriyasu has named Japan's 26-man World Cup squad. Real Sociedad playmaker Takefusa Kubo leads the European-based core. At 39, Yuto Nagatomo becomes the first Japanese player ever to make a fifth consecutive World Cup. Mitoma, Minamino and Morita all miss out through injury. Japan open Group F against the Netherlands in Arlington on June 14.
H ajime Moriyasu has named Japan's final 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, with Real Sociedad playmaker Takefusa Kubo leading a deep European-based core. The Samurai Blue land in Group F alongside the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden and open the tournament against the Dutch on June 14 in Arlington, Texas. It is Moriyasu's second consecutive World Cup as head coach after the run to the round of 16 in Qatar 2022 that featured wins over Germany and Spain.
In goal Moriyasu has selected Zion Suzuki (Parma), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) and Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers). The defensive line leans heavily European: Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), Ko Itakura and Takehiro Tomiyasu (both Ajax), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen), Shogo Taniguchi (Sint-Truiden), Ayumu Seko (Le Havre) and Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen), with veteran Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo) the only J-League name in the back nine.
The midfield is the spine of the squad. Wataru Endo (Liverpool) is the experienced screener, supported by Kaishu Sano (Mainz 05), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace) and Ao Tanaka (Leeds United) in box-to-box roles. The creative band features Kubo, Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt), Junya Ito (Genk), Keito Nakamura (Stade de Reims) and Freiburg attacking midfielder Yuito Suzuki. The forward line is led by Celtic's Daizen Maeda, Feyenoord's Ayase Ueda, Koki Ogawa (NEC Nijmegen), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden) and Wolfsburg's Kento Shiogai.
Yuto Nagatomo is the headline historic name. At 39 the former Inter, Galatasaray and Olympique de Marseille full-back becomes the first Japanese player to make a fifth consecutive World Cup, extending a streak that began in South Africa 2010. His role inside the camp is leadership and continuity for a squad otherwise built on the next generation that played at Qatar 2022.
On the absences side, Moriyasu has lost three players he would have wanted available. Kaoru Mitoma, Takumi Minamino and Hidemasa Morita all miss the tournament through injury. Each of the three was central to Japan's qualification campaign, and their absence pushes Doan, Nakamura and Yuito Suzuki further up the pecking order on the flanks and through the middle.
Japan's Group F opens on June 14 against the Netherlands in Arlington, then continues against Tunisia and Sweden. After the Samurai Blue's round-of-16 exit at Qatar 2022, the public target inside the federation is to push past that barrier for the first time. The Kubo-Endo-Doan axis carries the tactical weight, with Maeda and Ueda the alternative reference points in the box.