The injured Kaoru Mitoma was left out of Japan’s World Cup squad on Friday, which was a major blow to their chances of progressing beyond the last sixteen for the first time.
The 28-year-old winger suffered a hamstring injury during Brighton’s 3-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League last weekend.
“The medical team judged that it would be difficult for him to regain fitness during the tournament,” coach Hajime Moriyasu said as he named his squad in Tokyo.
Monaco striker Takumi Minamino also missed the match after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in late December.
Japan have been drawn in Group F with the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia and they will start their campaign against the Dutch in Arlington, Texas on June 14.
Mitoma is one of Japan’s best players and scored the winner in their 1-0 friendly win over England at Wembley in March.
He also played a key role in his country’s shock victories over Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Japan ultimately lost to Croatia on penalties in the last 16.
Ajax’s Takehiro Tomiyasu was included in the 26-man squad despite not having played for Japan since June 2024 due to injuries.
Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada, Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo were all there.
Wolfsburg’s Kento Shiogai, who won his first cap in Japan’s 1-0 win over Scotland in Glasgow in March, also made the cut.
Japan’s reported preliminary squad
Goalkeepers: Zion Suzuki, Keisuke Osako, Tomoki Hayakawa
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Shogo Taniguchi (Sint-Truiden/BEL), Ko Itakura (Ajax/NED), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord/NED), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax/NED), Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich/DU), Ayumu Seko (Le Havre/FRA), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen/GER), Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen/DEN)
Midfielders: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Junya Ito (Genk), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace/GER), Koki Ogawa (NEC/NED), Daizen Maeda (Celtic/SCO), Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord/NED), Keito Nakamura (Reims/FRA), Kaishu Sano (Mainz/GER), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad/ESP), Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg/DE), Kento Shiogai (Wolfsburg/DE), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden/BEL)
Published on May 15, 2026
