Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu named his country’s World Cup squad on Tuesday with 7 of the 26 individuals playing in the Bundesliga.
The seven players in question include Maya Yoshida (Schalke 04), Hiroki Ito (VfB Stuttgart), Ko Itakura (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Wataru Endo (VfB Stuttgart), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ritsu Doan (SC Freiburg), Takuma Asano (VfL Bochum), and Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf, 2. Bundesliga).
Moriyasu is aware of the difficult task of choosing his squad ahead of this month’s tournament. The 54-year-old explained: “Unfortunately, I couldn’t nominate everyone who was looking forward to the World Cup.” Nevertheless, he is satisfied with his selection: “We have players who are simply on the same wavelength. They will form together and contribute their individual strengths in the best possible way.”
Japan are in Group E this winter and will find it difficult to get out of the group stages. They begin their campaign on November 23rd when they play Germany. This is followed by Costa Rica and then Spain.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
