Japan release 26-man squad for 2022 Qatar World Cup

The Asian country are the first to release their squad for the upcoming tournament

Japan are the first nation to announce their 26-man squad for the upcoming Qatar World Cup. We have already entered the World Cup month and the tournament is just a few weeks away.

All the respective managers have already picked their 55-man provisional squads for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and look set to announce their squads in the upcoming days.

Hajime Moriyasu's squad does include several national team legends, including defender Maya Yoshida and full-back Yuto Nagatomo. Both players have 258 caps between them. While Arsenal full back Takehiro Tomiyasu and Brighton forward Kaoru Mitoma are also included in the side. Real Sociedad young forward Takefusa Kubo is also included in the squad, despite currently being on the sidelines due to injury. But the young forward is set to be fit just in time for the tournament.

Japan are in Group E at the World Cup. Their group also includes Germany, Spain and Costa Rica. Hajime Moriyasu's side will face Canada in a friendly match on November 17, six days before their opening game against Germany.

Japan’s World Cup squad

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

Defenders: Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Reds), Maya Yoshida (Schalke), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town).

Midfielders: Wataru Endo (Stuttgart), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting Lisbon), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Gaku Shibasaki (Leganes), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg), Junya Ito (Stade Reims), Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus).

Forwards: Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Takuma Asano (Bochum), Ayase Ueda (Cercle Bruges).