On November 1, Japan announced its 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar, with players from Europe's top five leagues, including Kenhiro Tomiyasu, Kaoru Mikasa, Daichi Kamata, and Hidei Kuyasu, among veterans such as Nagashima Ejiru, Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida and Hiroki Sakai.
Judging from the published list, it basically includes the strongest players among Japan's current players.
In the goalkeeper position, Shuichi Gonda, encouraged by Shimizu of Japan's J-League, will occupy the main goalkeeper position, while American-Japanese player Daniel Schmidt will compete with veteran Nagashima for the second goalkeeper position. From the perspective of the configuration of goalkeepers, the strength of the three goalkeepers is relatively average, which may bring hidden dangers to the Japanese team's trip to Qatar.
In the backfield, Kenyo Tomiyasu from Arsenal in the Premier League will undoubtedly occupy a main position. After the baptism of the Premier League, Fuyasu's ability is already the existence of top defenders in Asia, even on the stage of the World Cup, Fuyasu Kenyang is still the level of first-class defenders. Itakura, who is also from the Bundesliga Borussia Mönchen on the defensive line, is also not to be underestimated, as the representative of a new generation of Japanese defenders, 186cm tall enough to cope with the impact of tall centers of European teams, of course, the injury in September may limit his performance in Qatar. In addition, Ito Yoki from Stuttgart should also occupy a main position in the Japanese defensive line. The names of veterans such as Yuto Nagatomo, Hiroki Sakai and Maya Yoshida are on the list of veterans released this time, and in the opinion of head coach Hoichi Mori, players with rich experience in the tournament are very important for this Japanese team.
Compared to the backfield, Japan's midfield can be described as a star. Eintracht Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada, Stuttgart's Hiroshi Endo, Sporting Sport's Hidemasa Morida, Leganes' Takeshi Shibasaki and Tori Tanaka of Fortivine Fortuna are the absolute workhorses of their respective teams. Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Hideo Kuyasu, Takuma Asano, and Dairan Maeda are also familiar to fans who follow the Europa League with names. The configuration of the midfield will definitely be dominated by players from Europe, and their performance will directly determine the fate of the Japanese team in the group stage.
The Japanese team's advanced style of play and smooth coordination, coupled with the fact that in recent years, the physical fitness of Japanese players has also improved, and they have not fallen behind in dialogue with European powerhouses. In the previous warm-up matches, the victory over the United States and the draw against Ecuador, which were strong, all showed the strength of the Japanese team.
At the World Cup in Qatar, Japan is in the same group as Germany and Spain and Costa Rica, and the qualification situation is not optimistic. However, referring to the performance of the Japanese team in previous World Cups, the Japanese team has repeatedly played well against the European powerhouses, and we can expect that in Qatar, the Japanese team can surprise the majority of fans.