WORLD CUP 2022 - Kubo and Minamino in Qatar with Japan

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu on Tuesday included former Barcelona and Real Madrid nugget Takefusa Kubo in his list of 26 players selected for the World Cup in Qatar. The “Blue Samurai” will face formidable opponents in the first round. Eliminated in the round of 16 in 2002, 2010 and 2018, they will come up against Germany and Spain in particular, as well as Costa Rica in group E of the group stage of the FIFA World Cup (November 20 -18 December).

Kubo, 21, played from 2011 to 2015 at La Masia, FC Barcelona’s prestigious training center, where he earned the nickname “Japanese Messi” at the start of a very early career. The winger was signed in 2019 by Real Madrid, but has subsequently been loaned out to several other Spanish clubs for the past three years, before signing permanently with Real Sociedad at the start of this season. He has 19 caps for one goal with the Japan national team.

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Winger Kaoru Mitoma, 25, who joined Brighton in the summer after a year on loan at Union SG in Belgium, has recovered from injury to eventually make the Japanese squad. Former Southampton defender Maya Yoshida (34) will captain the team and play in her third World Cup. For left-back Yuto Nagatomo (36), former Inter and OM, and goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima (39), currently a substitute in Strasbourg, this will be a fourth selection for a World Cup.

Eintracht Frankfurt attacking midfielder Daichi Kamada, who is making an excellent start to the season, and Monegasque Takumi Minamino, more struggling since his arrival in the Principality this summer, have also been included in a team that includes only six players playing in Japan. Coach Hajime Moriyasu, in charge since 2018, has also brought in Ko Itakura, although the centre-back did not play for Borussia Mönchengladbach again after suffering a knee injury in September. On the other hand, he dismissed midfielder Genki Haraguchi and striker Yuya Osako from a list of only six survivors compared to that of the previous World Cup in Russia.

Japan will open their World Cup against Germany on November 23, before facing Costa Rica on November 27 and Spain on December 1. The complete list of the 26 selected:

Gardiens de but: Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse/JPN), Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg/FRA), Daniel Schmidt (Sint-Truiden/BEL)

Défenseurs: Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Maya Yoshida (Schalke), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Reds), Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach), Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart)

Milieux de terrain: Wataru Endo (Stuttgart), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Francfort), Junya Ito (Reims), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Takumi Minamino (Monaco), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus), Gaku Shibasaki (Leganes), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Ritsu Doan (Fribourg)