Japan at the FIFA World Cup 2026

History

Japan have qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 1998, making 2026 their eighth consecutive appearance. Their best results came in 2002 (as co-hosts with South Korea), 2010, and 2022, when they each time reached the round of 16. At Qatar 2022, Japan produced one of the tournament's biggest shocks by beating Germany and Spain in the group stage before narrowly losing to Croatia on penalties in the last 16. Japan have 0 world titles and have never reached the quarter-finals.

Qualification

Japan qualified from the AFC Third Round, winning their qualifying group with a dominant campaign. They became the first nation to officially clinch a spot at the 2026 World Cup, sealing qualification on March 20, 2025 with a victory over Bahrain. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu, whose contract was extended after Qatar 2022, guided the Samurai Blue through a group that included China, Bahrain, and others, finishing as group winners with a significant points margin.

Preparation

Japan announced their final 26-man squad on May 15, 2026. The most notable absentee was winger Kaoru Mitoma, who suffered an injury and was deemed unlikely to recover in time, according to coach Moriyasu. In March 2026, Japan played two impressive away friendlies: a 1-0 win over Scotland in Glasgow (Junya Ito, 84') and a 1-0 win over England at Wembley, England's first ever home defeat to an Asian side. In their final pre-tournament match, the Kirin Challenge Cup 2026 in Tokyo on May 31, Japan beat a defensive Iceland 1-0, substitute Koki Ogawa heading the only goal in the 87th minute from a Yukinari Sugawara cross. Their base camp for the tournament is Nashville SC's Training Center in Antioch, Tennessee, with a community open-training day set for June 8.

Latest news

Japan beat Iceland 1-0 in final World Cup warm-up; Ogawa heads late winner

· matches

In the Kirin Challenge Cup 2026 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan edged a defensive Iceland 1-0 in their final friendly before the World Cup. Substitute Koki Ogawa headed the only goal in the 87th minute from a Yukinari Sugawara cross. Japan lined up in a 3-4-2-1 with Zion Suzuki in goal.

Squad

PlayerPositionClub
Zion SuzukiGKParma
Keisuke OsakoGKSanfrecce Hiroshima
Tomoki HayakawaGKKashima Antlers
Yuto NagatomoDFFC Tokyo
Shogo TaniguchiDFSint-Truiden
Tsuyoshi WatanabeDFFeyenoord
Junnosuke SuzukiDFFC Copenhagen
Hiroki ItoDFBayern Munich
Ko ItakuraDFAjax
Takehiro TomiyasuDFAjax
Ayumu SekoDFLe Havre
Yukinari SugawaraDFWerder Bremen
Wataru EndoMFLiverpool
Daichi KamadaMFCrystal Palace
Kaishu SanoMFMainz 05
Ao TanakaMFLeeds United
Junya ItoMFKRC Genk
Ritsu DoanMFEintracht Frankfurt
Keito NakamuraMFStade de Reims
Takefusa KuboMFReal Sociedad
Yuito SuzukiMFSC Freiburg
Daizen MaedaFWCeltic
Ayase UedaFWFeyenoord
Koki OgawaFWNEC Nijmegen
Keisuke GotoFWSint-Truiden
Kento ShiogaiFWVfL Wolfsburg

Recent results

  • 2023-11-16 — JPN 5-0 MYA (qualification)
  • 2023-11-21 — SYR 0-5 JPN (qualification)
  • 2024-01-01 — JPN 5-0 THA (friendly)
  • 2024-01-09 — JPN 6-1 JOR (friendly)
  • 2024-03-21 — JPN 1-0 PRK (qualification)
  • 2024-06-06 — MYA 0-5 JPN (qualification)
  • 2024-06-11 — JPN 5-0 SYR (qualification)
  • 2024-09-05 — JPN 7-0 CHN (qualification)
  • 2024-09-10 — BHR 0-5 JPN (qualification)
  • 2024-10-10 — KSA 0-2 JPN (qualification)
  • 2024-10-15 — JPN 1-1 AUS (qualification)
  • 2024-11-15 — IDN 0-4 JPN (qualification)
  • 2024-11-19 — CHN 1-3 JPN (qualification)
  • 2025-03-20 — JPN 2-0 BHR (qualification)
  • 2025-03-25 — JPN 0-0 KSA (qualification)
  • 2025-06-05 — AUS 1-0 JPN (qualification)
  • 2025-06-10 — JPN 6-0 IDN (qualification)
  • 2025-09-06 — MEX 0-0 JPN (friendly)
  • 2025-09-09 — USA 2-0 JPN (friendly)
  • 2026-03-28 — SCO 0-1 JPN (friendly)
  • 2026-03-31 — ENG 0-1 JPN (friendly)
  • 2026-05-31 — JPN 1-0 ISL (friendly)

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