A Quick, Early Look at a Few Under-20 Players in the 100 Year Vision J.League So Far!
Vision of the Future
New year, new season-ish of the J.League! Six games or around 1/3rd of the way through this [insert adjective based on how you feel] tournament, I’ve been rather quiet on Substack as I’ve been very busy watching tons of matches! Not on social media though so if you want more daily, random thoughts/opinions follow me on Twitter or BlueSky (or if you’re a very serious person, LinkedIn I guess). It’s an exciting time with various teams (not all of course) holding off on major transfer moves during the winter to instead assess their existing squad members, including youngsters from their own academy or high school teams or university teams ahead of the start of the 2026-2027 season in August.
As a bonafide Shogun Soccer Scouting series takes up a lot of time, I thought I’d write something quick and short on a number of U-20 players to whet the appetite, if you will. Of course, I’ve already written about some like Ryunosuke Sato or Yotaro Nakajima…
While for others like… let’s say Joi Yamamoto, Gaku Nawata, Rei Umeki you probably don’t need to be reading this newsletter to know about them as there’s plenty of buzz on social media already! I might write something more substantial on Gaku Nawata later this year if he can start and play for the majority of the 90 minutes in more games.
So, basically players born after 2006-ish. Also, let’s be clear. These profiles will be brief. There are no conclusions yet. Just some players that might be interesting to keep monitoring. Some “ideas” if you will.
Let’s get started!
Kento Hamasaki
Date of Birth: June 16th, 2007
Age: 18 years old
Nationality: Japan
Position: Attacking Midfielder (Box-to-Box, #8 Type)
Club: Vissel Kobe (J1)
Squad Number: #28 (J.League), #52 (Asian Champions League)
Height/Weight: 1.65m // 60 kg (Source: Soccer Digest)
Kento Hamasaki is another player to come through Vissel Kobe’s academy which has been producing a number of J.League ready players recently through good investment (it’s not all been about signing Galacticos like Andres Iniesta and friends…).
A left-footer but playing usually around the right in both a #10 and #8-ish role typical of a Vissel Kobe midfielder in recent years (even with the managerial change to Michael Skibbe). He works really well with the Right Back and Right Winger in the final 3rd to make rotations and combination plays to break down blocks. His main weapon in these situations are under-laps in the half-space to receive to get shots off or crosses in.
Hamasaki is quite exciting to watch on the ball due to his lovely ball control in tight spaces, agility to shift his body to change directions, and slip past opponent pressure. On the other hand, he is of course as anybody can see, quite small…
Of course, as with many young attackers, his next step is to refine his final output, whether it be a pass, cross, or a decisive shot all of which has been a bit lacking despite his ability to get into some good positions with the ball.
One last thing I will note is that he is very one-legged at the moment. If he were more willing to use his weaker Right foot I think he could be an even bigger threat.
Match to watch: Asian Champions League Group Stage vs. FC Seoul (Feb. 10, 2026)
Ayumu Furuya
Date of Birth: May 9th, 2007
Age: 18 years old
Nationality: Japan
Position: Striker
Club: Vegalta Sendai (J2)
Squad Number: #34
Height/Weight: 1.76m // 79 kg (Source: Soccer Digest)
There’s been a decent amount of social media buzz around Ayumu Kameda over at Kataller Toyama (maybe he’ll appear in a future newsletter in this series) but I wanted to highlight a different “Ayumu” today, Vegalta Sendai’s Ayumu Furuya. What piqued my interest in him was how strong with his back-to-goal he is already, being able to shield against proper professional opponents way older than him at his young age.
Aside from his hold-up play, Furuya also makes runs behind or wide to stretch the defense, creating space for himself or others.
Inside the box he hasn’t been able to take advantage of the chances that have come his way despite some good movement or positioning. Funnily enough, the one goal he has scored so far this season was an extremely difficult chance, a lobbed shot over the keeper from outside the box! Also he makes sure to follow up on shots from teammates for potential rebounds.
Compared to the other players mentioned here, Furuya has played the least amount of minutes and probably the most “raw” player among those in this newsletter. Time will tell if his other non-physical, technical tools can improve further and he adds more goals.
With manager Yoshiro Moriyama having already rejuvenated Vegalta Sendai over the past few years by working with the recruitment team to cut down the squad’s average age (and his experience as Japan U17 national team manager), Furuya’s future should be in the right hands, someone who can guide him toward a level where he can become a main starter at the J2 level… and perhaps beyond.
Match to watch: vs. Tochigi City FC (February 7th, 2026)
Soichiro Mori
Date of Birth: June 29th, 2007
Age: 18 years old
Nationality: Japan
Position: Right Full Back, Right Wing Back
Club: Nagoya Grampus (J1)
Squad Number: #44 (J.League)
Height/Weight: 1.80m // 70 kg (Source: Soccer Digest)
After spending some time with Nagoya Grampus’ U18s, Soichiro Mori got his debut last season for Nagoya Grampus under Kenta Hasegawa’s guidance and made a decent number of appearances at Right Wing Back from the summer months of 2025. These experience led him to the U20 World Cup in the fall of 2025 where he only played in the dead-rubber group stage game vs. New Zealand (well, and 3 minutes against Egypt in the opener). Mori was also a regular in the U23 Asian Cup a few months ago until he lost his place and did not appear in the semifinal or the final as U23 Japan went on to win the tournament.
Under Mischa Petrovic’s new Grampus team, Mori’s role has changed from a more conventional Full Back/Wing Back to more of a Winger as per the Austrian tactician’s proclivities. In possession, Petrovic has his Wing Backs set up very high-and-wide as kind of a Front 5-ish shape and not involved in the build-up much at all as that’s left to the Center Backs and Central Midfielders instead (if you want more details, refer to my J.League season reviews of years past when Petrovic was in charge of Consadole Sapporo). Mori has taken to this more attacking role with aplomb through his darting diagonal runs inside, a notable example being the goal he scored against Avispa Fukuoka (see below video clip). Otherwise, Mori relies on his physical traits to engage in the robust up-and-down movement required of Wing Backs (Nagoya still form a Back 5 out-of-possesion) along with far posts runs into the box for crosses.
In this role he needs to be aware of making space for others, especially when the Right Center Back of the Back 3 pushes forward. Mori has been quite adept at these positional rotations on the Right side to maintain possession in the final 3rd with the Right Center Back (usually Teruki Hara) along with a number of attackers in the Front 3 that drift towards the Right. Of course, he also does regular wide activities like making runs or carrying forward to cross the ball.
One key aspect to continue monitoring is how he develops defensively as while he can be quite proactive on the front foot in the high press (like against Gamba Osaka, see video footage below), I want to keep an eye on him more when he is defending deeper in a block (body shape, preventing crosses, etc.) as part of a Back 5 or Back 4 (issues in the latter we saw at the U23 Asian Cup).
Match to watch: 2nd Half cameo vs. Gamba Osaka (February 18, 2026)
Makoto Himeno
Date of Birth: August 12, 2008
Age: 17 years old
Nationality: Japan
Position: Wide Midfielder, Right // Left
Club: JEF United (J1)
Squad Number: #37
Height/Weight: 1.71m // 66 kg (Source: Soccer Digest)
Makoto Himeno made waves at the tail end of last season. He made his professional debut. At 17 years old. In a play-off semi-final… and scored a goal for good measure! With JEF United’s ascension back into J1, Himeno has earned a decent amount of playing with the occasional start.
Himeno is a dribbler who prefers receiving the ball to feet (rather than running into space) to take defenders on. This is his main weapon but as you might imagine from a 17 year old, he’s not quite yet got the strength to consistently beat his man.
Defensively he does a decent job tracking back to keep JEF United’s compact 4-4-2 shape and what I’ve liked is how he doesn’t go blindly rushing forward in high press situations. He’s quite aware of his responsibilities and will hold off on charging forward if the opponent Full Back/Midfielder is available out wide.
Despite his age he is already trusted with taking set-pieces: corner kicks and direct/indirect free kicks. Even more interestingly, he’s willing to take them with either foot so that he can play inswingers from either side! Although so far it hasn’t led to a whole lot of chances, it does show you how much confidence the team have in his abilities. Due to his two-footedness he can play on both sides of the pitch as the wide midfielder/winger as well which increases his utility on the team.
Match to watch: Cameo vs. Machida Zelvia (February 27, 2026)
Special mention: Yoon Sung-Jun
Date of Birth: May 4th, 2007
Age: 18 years old
Nationality: Japan
Position: Center Defensive Midfield
Club: Kyoto Sanga (J1)
Squad Number: #25 (2025 J2 season)
Height/Weight: 1.70m // 67 kg (Source: Soccer Digest)
A big surprise after manager Cho Kwi-jae chose his Zainichi Korean compatriot, Yoon Sung-Jun, to start against Avispa Fukuoka on matchday 3 for his league debut (his pro debut was in the League Cup in the 2025 season). Yoon is a deep-lying central midfielder operating in a double pivot or as the single pivot. He has good defensive positioning for interceptions and is also quickly activated to collect loose/2nd balls. Yoon mostly supports attacking play in the final 3rd as a safe nexus for back passes and also takes up positions for a rest defense role in possession play. He does have moments of penetrative/progressive passing that show potential for more direct contributions in attack though.
I’m going to be honest and say I’m rather frustrated he’s going to pick playing for South Korea given how he’s lived in Japan his entire life and been brought through the J.League academy system. It’s his choice, of course, but I wish it weren’t so!
Match to watch: League debut1 vs. Avispa Fukuoka
There are other players that I wanted to list here but wweeeeeelllllll I might be writing in detail about them once more games have been played so I’m keeping those names close to my chest for now! Again, no conclusions… yet. Just some “ideas” to monitor as we progress through the half-season and then the full 2026/2027 season! Perhaps I’ll come back to these in another update alongside a few more players I’m watching.
I’m hoping to return to some fully fleshed out editions of the Shogun Soccer Scouting series in the next month or so before the summer transfer window rumor mill starts (oh and other features on that big event called the World Cup I suppose2).
Thanks for reading!
(Bonus points3 to those who understand the reference in the sub-title!)
Technically, for record-keeping purposes the 100 Year Vision League records are not J.League records. So he’ll need to make an appearance in the 2026/2027 season for it to be his actual league debut.
** Exhausted sigh** Yes, also expect some World Cup content on here!
To/for what exactly? Who knows!