On November 1, Beijing time, the Japan Football Association held a press conference to announce the list of 26 players participating in the World Cup. 13 days in advance, the Japanese team revealed the suspense of the World Cup list (FIFA requires the list to be announced by November 14), and the names such as Takumi Minamino, Hisashi Kuyasu, and Kenhiro Tomiyasu are all listed. The luxurious lineup of the Japanese team is enviable...
Japan's 26-man roster, 20 of which are in the Euroleague:
Naiji Kawashima of Strasbourg, Schmidt of St. Trulden; Maya Yoshida from Schalke 04, Itakura from Monheing, Yuta Nakayama from Hasfield, Kenhiro Tomiyasu from Arsenal, and Yoki Ito from Stuttgart.
Takeshi Shibasaki in Leganes, Hiroshi Endo in Stuttgart, Kaoru Mikasa in Brighton, Don Anru in Freiburg, Bi Tanaka in Dusseldorf, Hisashi Kushina of Real Sociedad, Hidemasa Morita of Sporting Portugal, Daichi Kamada in Frankfurt; Junya Ito of Reims, Takumi Minamino of Monaco, Takuma Asano of Bochum, Dairan Maeda of the Celtic, and Kiyo Ueda of Bruges.
Of the 20, seven are from the Bundesliga, spread across three lines: Maya Yoshida, Itakura and Ito Yoshiki are defenders; Hiroshi Endo, Daichi Kamata, Takuma Asano and Ritsu Dodo are midfielders.
In this season's Champions League, there are also three Japanese players.
Eintracht Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada, 7 goals and 2 assists in 11 Bundesliga games and 2 goals in 5 Champions League games, is the absolute workhorse of Eintracht Frankfurt and the best player in the team; Sporting Portugal's Hidemasa Morita, who has scored two goals and one assist in 10 games in the Portuguese Premier League this season and one assist in five Champions League games, is also the team's main midfielder. Celtic Maeda Dairan has made five Champions League appearances this season.
Furuhashi Hengwu, who also played in the Champions League, and standard-bearer Piyang (both playing for Celtic in the Soviet Super League), can't even enter the squad! It can be seen how fierce the competition of the Japanese team is.
The Japanese team, with a luxurious lineup, has shouted the slogan of the 2022 World Cup: World Cup Top 8, may you and I be connected to surpass together.
In the 2018 World Cup, Japan almost reached the last eight. In the 1/8 final Japan vs Belgium, Japan led 2-0 at one point and saw hope of promotion. However, Belgium began to play high, scoring two goals in a row to equalize. In the final minute of the match, Belgium launched a fast attack, Chadley scored a desperate, Japan lost 2-3, unfortunately out. After four years, can the Japanese team realize its dream of the World Cup Top 8?