Eighth straight World Cup and the most Europe-based squad Japan has ever fielded, with recent wins over Brazil and England fuelling dark-horse talk. Kaoru Mitoma (injury) was the headline omission, and captain Wataru Endo withdrew injured on day one of the tournament.
Head coach
Hajime Moriyasu
Since Aug 2018
Group result
Group F (runners-up)
R32: vs Brazil
Squad avg age
26.6
26-player squad
Squad market value
€271m
est.
Result
Eliminated · R32 →
Lost 1–2 to Brazil
Squad
Full 26-man squad · club at selection · senior caps| # | Pos | Player | Club (league) | Age | Caps | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Zion Suzuki | Parma (ITA) | 23 | 24 | €20m |
| 2 | DF | Yukinari Sugawara | Werder Bremen (GER) | 25 | 21 | €5.5m |
| 3 | DF | Shōgo Taniguchi | Sint-Truiden (BEL) | 34 | 38 | €750k |
| 4 | DF | Kō Itakura(C) | Ajax (NED) | 29 | 40 | €8m |
| 5 | DF | Yūto Nagatomo | FC Tokyo (JPN) | 39 | 145 | €100k |
| 6 | FW | Shūto Machino | Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) | 26 | 14 | €4m |
| 7 | MF | Ao Tanaka | Leeds United (ENG) | 27 | 38 | €13m |
| 8 | MF | Takefusa Kubo | Real Sociedad (ESP) | 24 | 49 | €20m |
| 9 | FW | Keisuke Gotō | Sint-Truiden (BEL) | 20 | 4 | €10m |
| 10 | MF | Ritsu Dōan | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 27 | 65 | €17m |
| 11 | MF | Daizen Maeda | Celtic (SCO) | 28 | 27 | €13m |
| 12 | GK | Keisuke Ōsako | Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN) | 26 | 11 | €2m |
| 13 | MF | Keito Nakamura | Reims (FRA) | 25 | 25 | €10m |
| 14 | MF | Junya Itō | Genk (BEL) | 32 | 69 | €3m |
| 15 | MF | Daichi Kamada | Crystal Palace (ENG) | 29 | 49 | €10m |
| 16 | DF | Tsuyoshi Watanabe | Feyenoord (NED) | 28 | 11 | €10m |
| 17 | MF | Yuito Suzuki | SC Freiburg (GER) | 24 | 6 | €24m |
| 18 | FW | Ayase Ueda | Feyenoord (NED) | 27 | 39 | €17m |
| 19 | FW | Kōki Ogawa | NEC Nijmegen (NED) | 28 | 15 | €2m |
| 20 | DF | Ayumu Seko | Le Havre (FRA) | 25 | 14 | €5m |
| 21 | DF | Hiroki Itō | Bayern Munich (GER) | 26 | 24 | €18m |
| 22 | DF | Takehiro Tomiyasu | Ajax (NED) | 27 | 43 | €5m |
| 23 | GK | Tomoki Hayakawa | Kashima Antlers (JPN) | 26 | 4 | €2m |
| 24 | MF | Kaishū Sano | Mainz 05 (GER) | 25 | 13 | €40m |
| 25 | DF | Junnosuke Suzuki | Copenhagen (DEN) | 22 | 6 | €3.5m |
| 26 | FW | Kento Shiogai | VfL Wolfsburg (GER) | 20 | 2 | €8m |