Japan have suffered a significant blow ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the news that Kaoru Mitoma will miss the tournament through injury, leaving coach Hajime Moriyasu without one of his most important players as the country bids to progress beyond the last 16 for the first time in their history.
Moriyasu named his 26-man squad in Tokyo on 15 May, confirming that the 28-year-old Brighton winger had been ruled out after sustaining a hamstring injury during his club’s 3-0 Premier League win over Wolves last weekend. “The medical team assessed that it would be difficult for him to get back to fitness during the tournament,” Moriyasu said.
Mitoma is arguably Japan’s most dangerous attacking threat. He scored the winning goal in their 1-0 friendly victory over England at Wembley in March and played a pivotal role in the stunning wins over Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Japan ultimately lost on penalties to Croatia in the last 16. His absence removes a genuine match-winner from a squad that will need every available weapon to make history in North America.
Monaco forward Takumi Minamino is another notable absentee, having torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in late December and ruled himself out of contention long before the squad announcement.
Ajax defender Takehiro Tomiyasu earns a recall despite not having represented Japan since June 2024 due to a series of injury setbacks, his experience deemed valuable enough to merit inclusion. Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada, Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo all retain their places, while Wolfsburg’s Kento Shiogai, who won his first cap in Japan’s 1-0 victory over Scotland in Glasgow in March, also makes the squad.
Japan have been drawn in Group F alongside the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia. They open their World Cup campaign against the Dutch in Arlington, Texas on 14 June, a formidable opener against one of the tournament’s stronger European sides.
Reaching the quarter-finals for the first time remains Japan’s stated ambition for this tournament, but achieving it without Mitoma will demand considerable collective effort and tactical ingenuity from Moriyasu.
Japan’s full squad:
Goalkeepers: Zion Suzuki (Parma), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers)
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 and forwards: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Junya Ito (Genk), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Koki Ogawa (NEC), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Keito Nakamura (Reims), Kaishu Sano (Mainz), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg), Kento Shiogai (Wolfsburg), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden)
