In a significant blow to Japan's World Cup preparations, Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma has been ruled out of the upcoming tournament in North America after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old, who has been a standout performer for the Seagulls this season, picked up the injury during Brighton's convincing 3-0 victory over Wolves last weekend. Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu confirmed the difficult decision, stating that medical assessments indicated Mitoma would not be able to regain full fitness in time for the tournament.
Mitoma joins Monaco forward Takumi Minamino on the sidelines, who has been sidelined since December after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. These absences represent a significant challenge for a Japanese side looking to build on their impressive showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In Qatar, the Samurai Blue captured global attention by topping their group with stunning victories over Germany and Spain, before bowing out in a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to eventual semifinalists Croatia. That run has set high expectations for this year's tournament.
There is reason for optimism, however. Japan heads into their final pre-tournament friendly against Iceland on May 31 riding a five-match winning streak. This impressive run includes a historic 3-2 comeback victory over Brazil in Tokyo last October, where they overturned a two-goal deficit to beat the South Americans for the first time.
Perhaps most notably, Japan has not conceded a single goal since that Brazil match. Their defensive solidity was on full display in March with a 1-0 victory over England at Wembley, followed by a 1-0 win against Scotland in Glasgow just three days later.
Captain Wataru Endo, the Liverpool defensive midfielder, will lead the squad alongside veteran fullback Yuto Nagatomo as Japan prepares for their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance since their debut in France in 1998. The team also co-hosted the tournament with South Korea in 2002.
Japan's 26-player World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Zion Suzuki, Keisuke Osako, Tomoki Hayakawa
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Shogo Taniguchi, Ko Itakura, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Hiroki Ito, Ayumu Seko, Yukinari Sugawara, Junnosuke Suzuki
Midfielders/Forwards: Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Koki Ogawa, Daizen Maeda, Ritsu Doan, Ayase Ueda, Ao Tanaka, Keito Nakamura, Kaishu Sano, Takefusa Kubo, Yuito Suzuki, Kento Shiogai, Keisuke Goto