Injured star Kaoru Mitoma was left out of Japan’s World Cup squad Friday as manager Hajime Moriyasu named his 26 players for the tournament starting next month in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Captain Wataru Endo and veteran fullback Yuto Nagatomo made the cut, but there was no place for the injured Takumi Minamino or the in-form Hidemasa Morita.
Ajax defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ko Itakura made the list, having come back from their respective injuries.
“We had many discussions before choosing the best 26 players for Japan to win on the world stage at this moment,” Moriyasu told a press conference in Tokyo, where he touched on the exclusion of the recently injured Mitoma.
“I was informed by our medical staff that his return during the tournament was difficult before giving up on selecting him.”
Appearing in an eighth straight World Cup, Japan begin their campaign against the Netherlands on June 14 before facing Tunisia and Sweden in Group F. The Samurai Blue are bidding to go beyond the round of 16 for the first time.
Japan squad:
Goalkeepers: Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Zion Suzuki (Parma)
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Shogo Taniguchi (Sint-Truiden), Ko Itakura (Ajax), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax), Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), Ayumu Seko (Le Havre), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen), Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen)
Midfielders/Forwards: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Junya Ito (Genk), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Koki Ogawa (NEC Nijmegen), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Ao Tanaka (Leeds), Keito Nakamura (Reims), Kaishu Sano (Mainz), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg), Kento Shiogai (Wolfsburg), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden)
