Inside Japan's World Cup roster 2026: Blue Samurai hoping for strong showing in North America

Inside Japan's World Cup roster 2026: Blue Samurai hoping for strong showing in North America originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Japan made their mark with high-profile victories over elite nations at the 2022 World Cup and, since then, the collective star of Hajime Moriyasu's talented squad has continued to rise.

The Samurai Blue topped their group in Qatar thanks to wins over Germany and Spain before bowing out on penalties against eventual semifinalists Croatia in the Round of 16.

Heading into their final pre-World Cup friendly against Iceland in Tokyo, Japan were on a five-match winning run, including victories over Brazil and England.

The 3-2 triumph over the Selecao, where Moriyasu's men came from 2-0 down at halftime, was the start of the streak and the last time they conceded a goal. As such, hopes are understandably high around these tournament dark horses.

The Sporting News has all the key details on Japan's World Cup squad below.

2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup tickets

Japan World Cup predicted roster 2026

Japan will announce their final World Cup roster on May 15.

Nations were given a deadline of May 11 to submit an official preliminary list of 35-55 players to FIFA, from which teams are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.

Caps and stats are correct as of May 11.

Position

No.

Player

Club

Age

Caps

Zion Suzuki

Parma (Serie A, Italy)

Keisuke Osako

Sanfrecce Hiroshima (J1 League, Japan)

Tomoki Hayakawa

Kashima Antlers (J1 League, Japan)

DEF

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Ajax (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

DEF

Ko Itakura

Ajax (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

DEF

Yukinari Sugawara

Werder Bremen (Bundesliga, Germany)

DEF

Shogo Taniguchi

Sint-Truiden (Pro League, Belgium)

DEF

Ayumu Seko

Le Havre (Ligue 1, France)

DEF

Tsuyoshi Watanabe

Feyenoord (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

DEF

Daiki Hashioka

Gent (Pro League, Belgium)

DEF

Hiroki Ito

Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Germany)

MID

Wataru Endo

Liverpool (Premier League, England)

MID

Takumi Minamino

Monaco (Ligue 1, France)

MID

Joel Chima Fujita

St Pauli (Bundesliga, Germany)

MID

Ritsu Doan

Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga, Germany)

MID

Keito Nakamura

Reims (Ligue 1, France)

MID

Junya Ito

Genk (Pro League, Belgium)

MID

Daichi Kamada

Crystal Palace (Premier League, England)

MID

Ao Tanaka

Leeds United (Premier League, England)

MID

Kaishu Sano

Mainz (Bundesliga, Germany)

FWD

Kaoru Mitoma

Brighton (Premier League, England)

FWD

Takefusa Kubo

Real Sociedad (La Liga, Spain)

FWD

Yuito Suzuki

Freiburg (Bundesliga, Germany)

FWD

Shuto Machino

Borussia Monchengladbach (Bundesliga, Germany)

FWD

Daizen Maeda

Celtic (Premiership, Scotland)

FWD

Ayase Ueda

Feyenoord (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

FWD

Koki Ogawa

NEC Nijmegen (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

Japan players to watch at World Cup

Kaoru Mitoma has had a couple of tough years with injury at Brighton, but the livewire winger has shown signs of his brilliant best during the closing months of the 2025/26 campaign.

The 28-year-old was also a familiar matchwinner for the Wembley crowd when he scored the only goal against England in March.

Likely starting on the opposite flank to Mitoma is Takefusa Kubo. The 24-year-old has endured form and fitness struggles at Real Sociedad this term but should be fresh and raring to make amends on the biggest stage.

MORE:Full schedule for Japan at the 2026 World Cup

Who is Japan's coach at the World Cup?

Hajime Moriyasu leads Japan once more after masterminding their wins over Germany and Spain in Qatar.

Moriyasu was an assistant to Akira Nishino when Japan reached the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup, and the challenge now is to clear the hurdle of the first knockout stage.

If there is a criticism of Moriyasu's Japan, it's that they don't back up their results against major nations with authoritative showings against sides they're expected to beat. The 2022 World Cup is a case in point, with the two big wins sandwiching a defeat to Costa Rica.

Moriyasu also led his country to the final of the 2019 Asian Cup, where they lost to Qatar. A defeat to Iran in the quarterfinals of the 2023 tournament marked another continental disappointment.

At club level, Moriyasu won Japan's J1 League with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2012, 2013 and 2015, backing up each of those successes with victory in the Japanese Super Cup.

Can Japan replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According to the official tournament rules (page 32), "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match." The exception concerns goalkeepers, who can be replaced in such circumstances at any time.

Japan World Cup history

Japan qualified for their first World Cup at France 98. That began an unbroken run of appearances that will tick up to eight at the 2026 World Cup. In 2002, Japan served as co-hosts alongside South Korea. In that home tournament, they suffered the first of four Round of 16 exits.

Current FIFA World Ranking: No. 18 (April 2026)
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances (last): 7 (Qatar 2022)
HowJapan qualified, W-L-D: AFC Third Round Group C winners: W7-L1-D2
World Cup record:
- Games: 25 GP (7 W, 6 D, 12 L)
- Goal differential: -8 (25 GS, 33 GA)