FIFA World Cup 2022: The Squad of Japan

The Japan National Football team finds itself in “Group E”, along with Spain, Costa Rica, and Germany. However, it is considered as one of the tougher groups in the FIFA World Cup tournament, where each and every game is bound to be an exciting one.

Team of Japan for FIFA World Cup 2022

The Japan National Football team (Samurai Blue) is generally taken care of by the Japan Football Association (JFA), which is the governing body for football in Japan. Currently, the team is led by their head coach, Hajime Moriyasu. 

Since their professional emergence in the 1990s, the team came to be known as one of the most successful teams in Asia. The team successfully qualified for the last seven FIFA World Cups with knockout stage appearances in the years of 2002, 2010, and 2018. They, however, achieved the AFC Asian Cup four times (1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011). The team finished second during the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Moreover, Japan remained the only team from the AFC beside Australia and Saudi Arabia to have reached the final of a senior FIFA men’s competition. The team was, moreover, invited to participate in the Copa América, in the years of 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2019 editions of the tournament, but they only played in the 1999 and 2019 tournaments. 

Furthermore, the team remains the only one from the AFC beside Australia and Saudi Arabia, who have reached the final of a senior FIFA men’s competition. The team’s progression in a short span of time has served as an inspiration and example of how to develop football. As per reports, the team has finished second in their qualifying group stage after Saudi Arabia.

Japan’s “Group E” Fixtures for FIFA World Cup 2022:

• 23 November- Japan vs Germany.
• 27 November- Japan vs Costa Rica. 
• 2 December- Japan vs Spain.

Squad of Japan

Japan comes up with their team players before the World Cup tournament. Check out the list of players, head coach and captain: 

Head Coach: Hajime Moriyasu.

Captain: Maya Yoshida.

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg), Daniel Schmidt (Sint Truiden), Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse).

Defenders: Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Red Diamonds), Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Maya Yoshida (Schalke 04), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Hiroki Ito (VfB Stuttgart), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo).

Midfielders: Junya Ito (Stade de Reims), Ritsu Doan (SC Freiburg), Wataru Endo (VfB Stuttgart), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt), Gaku Shibasaki (Leganes), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus).

Forwards: Takuma Asano (Vfl Bochum), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Ayase Ueda (Cercle Brugge), Shuto Machino (Shonan Bellmare),Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion).

Probable Top Picks for FIFA World Cup 2022:

• Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco) – Forward. 
• Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt) – Midfielder. 
• Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) – Forward. 
• Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal) – Defender.
• Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albio) – Forward. 
• Daniel Schmidt (Sint Truiden) – Goalkeeper. 
• Ritsu Doan (SC Freiburg) – Midfielder. 
• Maya Yoshida (Schalke 04) – Defender, as well as the captain.
• Hidemasa Morita (Sporting)- Midfielder.
• Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)- Defender.

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