The 2026 World Cup has its first qualified team. Japan will travel to the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA next summer.
Samurai Blue clinched their qualification with a 2-0 win against Bahrain in Saitama, putting them out of reach of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China in their group.
Australia currently occupy second place and the top two teams will qualify for the World Cup. The next two teams move into the next round of Asia’s labyrinthine qualifying contest.
Japan’s growing talent pool provides hope for improvement
Hajime Moriyasu, who took charge of the team at the last World Cup after serving as assistant manager in 2018, has guided Japan to six wins in their first seven games in their Third Round Group.
They joined the qualification campaign in the previous round, beating Syria and Myanmar twice each without conceding a goal.
After beating North Korea 1-0, they were awarded a walkover when North Korea forfeited the return fixture on public health grounds.
Japan qualified for their first World Cup in 1998 and haven’t failed to make the finals since, but they’ve alternated between group stage elimination and last 16 exits like clockwork.
In Qatar three years ago, they progressed past the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup. Japan had never before achieved that in back-to-back tournaments.
Now, with Japanese players increasingly making their mark around the world and the country’s J.League turning out international quality players with regularity, Moriyasu’s challenge is to go even further.
Japan’s early qualification is no surprise. The squad named by Moriyasu for the current international week is packed with ability and experience.
Four of his players – captain Wataru Endo, Kaoru Mitoma, Yukinari Sugawara and Daichi Kamada, who scored against Bahrain – play in the Premier League. Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka won’t be far behind them.
11 play in the top divisions in Spain, Italy, Germany and France. Former Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi, now at Rennes, is joined in the squad by current Celtic stars Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.
The oldest and youngest players are both among the five players (tellingly, all goalkeepers or defenders) who are regulars in J1 League, Japan’s top division.
38-year-old FC Tokyo defender Yuto Nagatomo has played more than 140 times for Japan.
Kawasaki Frontale’s Kota Takai, almost exactly 18 years Nagatomo’s junior, awaits his inevitable second cap and there will be many more to follow.
Japan have been able to take good squads to the World Cup since 1998 but Moriyasu has two fresh advantages.
First, his top players are Champions League regulars with genuine experience at the highest level of the game.
Second, he has a depth of options no Japan manager before him has had available to them. Moriyasu trusts the nucleus of his group but there are players standing by or breaking through who have lots to offer.
Blackburn Rovers striker Yuki Ohashi is waiting in the wings. Tomoki Iwata of Birmingham City, Coventry City winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Queens Park Rangers’ Koki Saito are plugging away elsewhere in the EFL.
In J1, Cerezo Osaka number attacking midfielder Sota Kitano is revealing his electrifying talent at 20 years of age. 23-year-old Sota Kawasaki is a more defensively minded midfielder at Kyoto Sanga.
21-year-old Riku Yamane is shining at Yokohama F. Marinos and teenager Jumpei Hayakawa has started well on loan with promoted J1 side Fagiano Okayama.
The list goes on. The pipeline is flowing. The big stars are on the way and Japan’s greatest footballer, the nation’s next ceiling smasher, is yet to come.
For the national team, the next obstacle that needs cracking is the World Cup round of 16 in 15 months’ time.
The World Cup in 2030 could be where something truly special happens as Japan’s most exciting football generation ever comes of age.
