Tokyo: Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu announced on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 his squad for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which excluded Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi and Vissel Kobe's Yuya Osako.
The squad included 26 players, including Yuki Soma of Nagoya Grampus and Takuma Asano of Bochum, while Genki Haraguchi will be absent from Japan's World Cup squad.
In a statement, the coach of the Japanese national team confirmed that he bets on players who have great enthusiasm to achieve success in the World Cup more than experience, pointing out at the same time that choosing a group of experienced players was one of the options.
Moriyasu expressed his hope that Japan would reach the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, knowing that it had not previously passed the round of sixteen in the history of its participation in the World Cup, although he admitted that this would not be easy.
Regarding the exclusion of the duo Furuhashi and Osako, coach Moriyasu considered that this decision was difficult for him, saying that If he could, he would have included them in the squad, as he wanted them to fight with them during the World Cup because they have the ability to do so.
It is noteworthy that Osako was one of the players who regularly participates in the Japanese national team, but he has been suffering physically since his return to Japan from Germany last summer... Furuhashi has been providing distinguished levels since his move to Scottish Celtic last year.
Despite the shortage, Japan's squad includes several experienced players, such as defenders Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai and Yuta Nagatomo, while the trio Takefusa Kubo, Kaoru Mitoma and Daichi Kamada are participating in the World Cup, but they are expected to pose a great threat on the offensive side.
The Japanese team will conclude its preparations for the World Cup by facing Canada in the last friendly match, on November 17 in the UAE, before heading to Qatar.
Japan has reached the round of 16 on three occasions during its previous participation in the World Cup, in 2002, 2010, and 2018.
The list of Japanese goalkeepers included: Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Daniel Schmidt (Sint-Truiden, Belgium), and Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg, France).
Defence: Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Red Diamonds), Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal, England), Maya Yoshida (Schalke, Germany), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale). Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart, Germany), Yuto Nagatomo (Tokyo), Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town, England).
Midfield: Junya Ito (Stade Reims, France), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg, Germany), Wataru Endo (Stuttgart, Germany), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting, Portugal), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad, Spain), Takumi Minamino (Monaco, France), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion, England), Gaku Shibasaki (Legans, Spain), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus).
Forwards: Daisen Maeda (Celtic, Scotland), Ayase Ueda (Cercle Brugge, Belgium), Takuma Asano (Bochum, Germany).
Japan play in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Group E, which includes Germany, Costa Rica, and Spain. Japan take on Germany on November 23 before facing Costa Rica on November 27 and Spain on December 1.
