Head coach Hajime Moriyasu confirmed that star Takefusa Kubo will be absent from the clash between Japan and Brazil.
The Japan national team will enter the match in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup against Brazil without the services of star Takefusa Kubo. Despite the serious loss, head coach Hajime Moriyasu remains optimistic about the ability to create a major surprise to change the history of the country’s football.
According to information from the pre-match press conference, Kubo has his third consecutive match sidelined at the planet’s biggest football festival. Takefusa Kubo sustained an injury and had to leave the pitch right during the 2-2 draw between the Japan national team and the Netherlands.
Since that moment, Kubo has missed the two clashes against Tunisia and Sweden, forced to stay at the training base in Nashville for recovery treatment instead of traveling with his teammates. Manager Hajime Moriyasu confirmed to the media that his favorite student will definitely not recover in time for the upcoming life-or-death battle.
The absence of the former Real Madrid star is an immeasurable loss, as he is the factor with the highest ability to create breakthroughs to pierce through the solid defenses of the giants.
“He is currently still only able to do running exercises and separate training plans, so Kubo will not play in the upcoming match against Brazil. We truly pray that he will quickly recover, and Kubo himself yearns for that.”
Speaking to the ESPN reporter about his team’s underdog status, the Japanese strategist admitted: “On the world football map, Brazil is standing in the leading position while Japan has not achieved such a high ranking, that is an obvious reality.
We are aiming for the goal of winning the World Cup, but our home team has never reached that level before. Of course, some people look at it and feel that we have been and are doing well.” Aside from the technical factors, the Japan team coaching staff has also carefully prepared for the scenario where the match must head into a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
The painful past at the 2022 World Cup when being eliminated by Croatia in the round of 16 on penalties is a costly lesson for the Samurai Blue warriors. The big battle between Japan and Brazil was assessed by the head of the Japan Football Association as the biggest clash in the country’s World Cup history.
If they can topple the South American giant, coach Moriyasu and his students will advance straight to the next round to face the winner of the match between Ivory Coast and Norway.
