Some quick thoughts on the Japan National Team squad for the Uruguay & Colombia friendly games
New cycle, new players? Who was left in/out?
At 2 PM this afternoon in Japan, Hajime Moriyasu finally announced his first squad selection after the 2022 World Cup. Everybody has an opinion, I’m sure, so here’s mine. Without further ado…
Let’s get started!
Here’s the full list of players. This newsletter will be based on the 4-2-3-1 formation rather than the 4-3-3 we saw in World Cup qualifying. Also note that the U-20 Asian Cup is going on right now so some younger players that could possibly have gotten a call-up (even if quite unlikely) are not included. Starters/substitute order are just my predictions…
Goalkeeper
Daniel Schmidt - Age: 31, Club: Sint-Truiden
Likely the starting goalkeeper, especially since he was quite close to winning the spot from Shuichi Gonda in the last few friendly matches before the World Cup (at least that’s what it felt like to me). Solid, big, if unspectacular. Considering his “seniority”, I imagine it’s his spot to lose.
Keisuke Osako - Age: 23, Club: Sanfrecce Hiroshima
He’s been the starting goalkeeper for Sanfrecce Hiroshima since he was 19 (bar the 2020 season when his form wavered a bit…) and has quite a lot of league minutes in the bank at his young age (for a goalkeeper). Started for Japan in the 2019 Copa America but lost his place to veteran Eiji Kawashima for the subsequent group games and also lost the starting spot to Kosei Tani for the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics.
Kosei Tani - Age: 22, Club: Gamba Osaka
A frequent sight over the past few years at the youth level, where he was the starter at the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics team. He’s been on loan for the past several years at Shonan Bellmare where he was getting regular minutes until he finally returned home to Gamba Osaka this past winter. Tani had started in goal for Gamba this season but just this past weekend, he was replaced by veteran Masaaki Higashiguchi. His inclusion in the squad, and even as a starter, will all depend on if he can keep his starting spot for Gamba Osaka.
Notable exclusions:
Shuichi Gonda: Still in J2 with Shimizu S-Pulse after a move to J1 or Europe never materialized in the winter so not considered. I’m perfectly fine with this choice.
Kosuke Nakamura: A while back he was seen as the next big thing but injuries curtailed his development. In the past year or so he’s been really playing well so it’s a bit of a shame he didn’t get a call-up, in my opinion. One of the best goalkeepers in the Portugese league this season.
Zion Suzuki: A regular sight at the youth national team level, considering he still hasn’t been able to nail down a place ahead of veteran Shusaku Nishikawa at Urawa Reds nor moved out on loan to get minutes means he’s on the outside looking in until he becomes a regular at club level.
Center Back
Takehiro Tomiyasu - Age: 24, Club: Arsenal
Ko Itakura - Age: 26, Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
I… don’t think either of these two need any explaining. Should be the clear starters for Japan from this point forward.
Ayumu Seko - Age: 22, Club: Grasshoppers
He’s been doing well at Grasshoppers from what I hear and I quite liked him when he was at Cerezo Osaka. I’m glad that he’ll likely get his debut this international break.
Ryotaro Tsunoda - Age: 23, Club: Yokohama F. Marinos
Steadily had been getting more starts under Kevin Muscat at Yokohama F. Marinos in the past year or so. Comfortable with the ball with both feet, can carry the ball out from the back as well as pass it. Good defender too, obviously, and he’s seemingly replaced last season’s stalwart, Eduardo, in the backline for good as the Left Center Back for Marinos this season (so far).
Notable exclusions:
Shogo Taniguchi: I imagine it’s him moving to a new club in Qatar (Al-Rayyan) and also because he’s most likely not going to be in the consideration for the 2026 seeing as he’s 31 already. He’s quite good and showed his quality at the World Cup so it’s a bit of a shame he’s not a bit younger or moved to Europe instead. Still might be called upon for tournaments as the “experienced veteran” guy.
Sho Sasaki: Decent with the ball at his feet at the J.League level but not really a fit for the national team, especially if not in a Back 3. Even Moriyasu has finally agreed (seemingly…) that Sasaki’s time has passed.
Naomichi Ueda: Another Moriyasu favorite. He’s had a good start since his return to Kashima Antlers so maybe we’ll see him again in the future but I don’t think he’s anywhere near a starting spot right now.
Right Back
Yukinari Sugawara - Age: 22, Club: AZ Alkmaar
I’ve kept tabs on him but haven’t really been able to watch full games of him. Starting Right Back for an AZ side that’s been doing really well in the Eredivisie as well as in the Europa Conference League so clearly he’s doing something right. I’m quite excited to see some new young blood at Right Back.
Daiki Hashioka - Age: 23, Club: Sint-Truiden
Playing primarily as a wing-back these days, motoring up and down the wings to supply crosses. I don’t think he’s amazing or anything but clearly deserves to be taken a look at after nearly 2 full seasons as a starter in Belgium.
Riku Handa - Age: 21, Club: Gamba Osaka
After several good seasons in his hometown club, Montedio Yamagata in J2, Handa moved over to Gamba Osaka this past winter. He’s already been playing quite well for a new look, possession-based Gamba side and he’ll hope to continue making an impact at the J1 level and possibly earn himself a move to Europe in the next few years to really cement the Right Back spot as his own.
Left Back
Hiroki Ito - Age: 23, Club: VfB Stuttgart
He had a bit of a rough World Cup… but the talent is there and hopefully he’ll grow more from the experience. I have him at Left Back mainly due to the lack of other options but he could easily play Center Back as well which is where he usually plays at the club level.
Kashif Bangunagande - Age: 21, Club: FC Tokyo
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one! I’ve written quite a lot about Kashif in the past and while he’s had his ups-and-downs, especially due to lots of injuries that looked to have curtailed his development, he’s made that Left Back spot his own now at FC Tokyo, pushing Yuto Nagatomo over to the Right if not out of the team entirely. Good crosser of the ball, well-timed runs on the overlap but defensive-wise these two games will be a huge step-up for him and I’m not quite sure he’s ready yet… Japan’s Left Back problems shouldn’t be news to anyone and well, I guess we’re just going to keep throwing anybody with some minutes at Left Back in to see how they do!
Notable exclusions:
Yuto Nagatomo (aging out), Hiroki Sakai (aging out), Miki Yamane, Reon Yamahara (would love him personally but he’s still inexplicably in J2…), Yuta Nakayama (injured), Ryuta Koike (injured), etc. In the future maybe Niko Takahashi will become the solution at Left Back…
Center Midfield
Wataru Endo - Age: 30, Club: VfB Stuttgart
Hidemasa Morita - Age: 27, Club: Sporting CP
Daichi Kamada - Age: 26, Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Ao Tanaka - Age: 24, Club: Fortuna Düsseldorf
The same midfield we saw at the World Cup, minus Gaku Shibasaki who has (finally) been left out. Still very strong, still very tough, no nonsense midfield. With Kamada dropping into the Center Midfield role now and the continued use of the double-pivot instead of the Midfield 3 we saw in qualifying is probably one of the reasons (at least tactically…) for Reo Hatate’s exclusion. Kamada can also pretty quickly switch roles in the formation to allow Japan to play both a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 as well. I imagine Hatate could play in a double-pivot but throughout his time at both Kawasaki Frontale and Celtic he’s always played in a 3-man midfield (I don’t remember if he did for the U-23s, although I do remember he was played at Left Back during the Olympics…). I personally would’ve dropped Ao Tanaka, who is languishing in the 2.Buli with a not-that-great Fortuna Düsseldorf team, for Reo Hatate but I’m not in charge here…
I would’ve liked to have seen Kota Watanabe or Atsuki Ito given a chance, even if they might not be starters. We may have seen Tomoki Iwata had he stayed at Marinos but he’s still getting used to playing in Europe for now and not getting minutes on the field.
Notable exclusions:
Reo Hatate, Kota Watanabe, Atsuki Ito, Tomoki Iwata, Genki Haraguchi, Gakuto Notsuda, Hayao Kawabe, Kento Tachibanada, Gaku Shibasaki, Yasuto Wakizaka, etc.
Right Wing
Junya Ito - Age: 30, Club: Stade Reims
Ritsu Doan - Age: 24, Club: SC Freiburg
Junya Ito didn’t necessarily have a great World Cup after being brilliant in qualifying as he was forced to become a Wing Back, but nevertheless he’s continued his great form at the club level since the World Cup so he deserves to keep his spot. Ritsu Doan has also gone from strength-to-strength with a very good Freiburg team this season. Very strong competition and variety available on the Right Wing here with Doan being able to cut in on his left while Ito likes to bomb down the wing.
Left Wing
Kaoru Mitoma - Age: 25, Club: Brighton & Hove Albion
Keito Nakamura - Age: 22, Club: LASK
We all know who Kaoru Mitoma is at this point, big thanks to all the Twitter listicle-merchants regurgitating the same spiel on his college thesis over the past few months… Keito Nakamura is a very exciting prospect who has exploded for his club team this season with 11 goals and 4 assists in 18.7 90s. Very good on the dribble and clearly has a lot of end-product to boot.
Notable exclusions:
Yuki Soma, Koki Saito, and… Koya Yuruki? Not a whole lot to choose from in my opinion with Koji Miyoshi’s disappearance, Masaya Okugawa/Tatsuhiro Sakamoto maybe not quite good enough, and Shoya Nakajima’s awful career choices (surely I’m forgetting someone else…). Out of the current squad options, Asano and Maeda can play wide as well.
#10 // Attacking Midfielder
Takefusa Kubo - Age: 21, Club: Real Sociedad
Takuma Nishimura - Age: 26, Club: Yokohama F. Marinos
Hopefully Take Kubo will be played more as a #10 or 9-and-a-half-ish type player like he does for Real Sociedad from now on (especially if Takumi Minamino continues to not play well) rather than being shunted out wide where all of his strengths are negated and his weaknesses are highlighted… Takuma Nishimura is rewarded again for his good form for Marinos, not quite sure if he can step up to the international level but not totally against it. I would’ve really liked to have seen Kanya Fujimoto get at least a call-up while Minamino’s exclusion is completely fair due to his abject performances at Monaco.
Notable exclusions:
Takumi Minamino, Kanya Fujimoto, Makoto Mitsuta, Tsukasa Morishima, etc.
Striker
Daizen Maeda - Age: 25, Club: Celtic FC
Ayase Ueda - Age: 24, Club: Cercle Brugge
Shuto Machino - Age: 23, Club: Shonan Bellmare
Takuma Asano - Age: 28, Club: VfL Bochum
The only one I don’t agree with is Takuma Asano who’s… not done a whole lot for club and country (yes, yes, the goal against Germany, I know…). If we want someone who works hard and runs fast, Yoshinori Muto is a much better all-round player. I would’ve taken Asano out to give Kyogo Furuhashi another try or Mao Hosoya. I find Kyogo’s exclusion far worse than Hatate as I don’t think you can reasonably ignore the amount of goal scoring he provides, even if he hasn’t replicated that in a national team shirt… yet. Ayase Ueda had a very poor World Cup but he’s been doing really well at Cercle Brugge, he’s adding more tools to his toolkit by playing slightly behind the #9 this season. Mao Hosoya breaking into the squad will really depend on Machino’s form as much as his own and making sure the goals keep coming at the J1 level. Daizen Maeda’s in the squad for his pressing, if that’s not clear to you by now…
Notable exclusions:
Kyogo Furuhashi, Mao Hosoya, Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto, Daichi Hayashi, Yuma Suzuki, etc.
There is still plenty of time for a lot of players who didn’t get picked today to come into the team as competitive games don’t start until autumn of this year (2026 World Cup qualification starts in November while the Asian Cup got pushed to January 2024). So let’s all take a deep breath. I would love to go a bit deeper buuuut it’s Wednesday (my dudes…) and I’m very busy. During the international break I’ll hope to have a “J.League 2023 season so far…” type post so be on the look out for that.
Thanks for reading!