Japan at the 2026 World Cup – Squad, Stats, Fixtures & History
| FIFA Ranking | 16 |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Manager | Hajime Moriyasu |
| Captain | Wataru Endō |
| Nickname | Samurai Blue |
| World Cup Titles | 0 |
| World Cup Appearances | 8 |
| Best Finish | Round of 16 (2002, 2018, 2022) |
| 2022 World Cup | Round of 16 — lost to Croatia on pens |
| 2026 Group | Group F (Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Sweden) |
Team photo coming soon
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Qualifying & history
Complete statistical breakdown from Japan's AFC qualifying campaign and all-time World Cup history.
Qualifying campaign — detailed breakdown
| Final Position | Qualified |
| Record | W12 D2 L1 |
| Goals Scored | 51 (3.40/match) |
| Goals Conceded | 3 (0.20/match) |
| Goal Difference | +48 |
| Clean Sheets | 12 (80.0%) |
| Failed to Score | 2 matches (13.3%) |
| Biggest Win | 7-0 (H) / 0-5 (A) |
| Biggest Loss | — |
| Win Rate | 80.0% |
| Home Record | W6 D2 L0 (8 games) |
| Away Record | W6 D0 L1 (7 games) |
| Top Scorer | A. Ueda (8 goals) |
| Top Assister | J. Ito (10 assists) |
| Most Carded | H. Ito (1 yellow) |
| Managers Used | Hajime Moriyasu |
Standard stats — AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2026
| Player | Pos | Age | MP | Starts | Min | 90s | Gls | Ast | G+A | CrdY | CrdR | G+A/90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z. Suzuki | G | 23 | 10 | 10 | 903 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| K. Itakura | D | 28 | 11 | 10 | 891 | 9.9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.10 |
| K. Machida | D | 28 | 11 | 10 | 872 | 9.7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.10 |
| W. Endo | M | 32 | 11 | 10 | 862 | 9.6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.10 |
| H. Morita | M | 30 | 10 | 9 | 742 | 8.2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.61 |
| R. Dōan | M | 27 | 12 | 10 | 726 | 8.1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.74 |
| T. Minamino | M | 30 | 12 | 10 | 710 | 7.9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.76 |
| A. Ueda | A | 27 | 9 | 9 | 692 | 7.7 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.30 |
| T. Kubo | M | 24 | 11 | 8 | 664 | 7.4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1.62 |
| D. Kamada | M | 29 | 12 | 8 | 658 | 7.3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.82 |
| S. Taniguchi | D | 34 | 8 | 7 | 605 | 6.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| A. Tanaka | M | 27 | 9 | 6 | 597 | 6.6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.30 |
| H. Ito | D | 26 | 6 | 5 | 498 | 5.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.18 |
| K. Mitoma | M | 28 | 7 | 6 | 477 | 5.3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.75 |
| Keito Nakamura | A | 25 | 10 | 4 | 422 | 4.7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.64 |
| J. Ito | M | 32 | 9 | 2 | 398 | 4.4 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Y. Sugawara | D | 25 | 5 | 4 | 319 | 3.5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.57 |
| Koki Ogawa | A | 28 | 8 | 3 | 319 | 3.5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| A. Seko | D | 25 | 4 | 3 | 315 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| D. Maeda | A | 28 | 7 | 2 | 303 | 3.4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.29 |
| K. Osako | G | 26 | 3 | 3 | 247 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| K. Takai | D | 21 | 4 | 2 | 219 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| D. Hashioka | D | 26 | 4 | 2 | 209 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| K. Sano | M | 25 | 3 | 2 | 199 | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| T. Tomiyasu | D | 27 | 2 | 2 | 166 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| SQUAD TOTAL | 238 | 165 | 14923 | 165.8 | 48 | 40 | 88 | 7 | 0 | — | ||
Updated from qualifying campaign data
Shooting stats — AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2026
| Player | Pos | Age | 90s | Gls | Sh | SoT | SoT% | Sh/90 | G/Sh | G/SoT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Ueda | A | 27 | 7.7 | 8 | 23 | 16 | 69.6% | 2.99 | 0.35 | 0.50 |
| Koki Ogawa | A | 28 | 3.5 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 60.0% | 4.29 | 0.40 | 0.67 |
| D. Kamada | M | 29 | 7.3 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 54.5% | 1.51 | 0.45 | 0.83 |
| T. Kubo | M | 24 | 7.4 | 4 | 16 | 8 | 50.0% | 2.16 | 0.25 | 0.50 |
| T. Minamino | M | 30 | 7.9 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 61.5% | 1.65 | 0.31 | 0.50 |
| R. Dōan | M | 27 | 8.1 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 86.7% | 1.85 | 0.20 | 0.23 |
| H. Morita | M | 30 | 8.2 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 25.0% | 1.46 | 0.25 | 1.00 |
| Keito Nakamura | A | 25 | 4.7 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 50.0% | 1.70 | 0.25 | 0.50 |
| Y. Sugawara | D | 25 | 3.5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | 1.14 | 0.50 | 0.67 |
| M. Hosoya | A | 24 | 0.8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 66.7% | 3.75 | 0.67 | 1.00 |
| Y. Soma | A | 28 | 1.6 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 75.0% | 5.00 | 0.13 | 0.17 |
| D. Maeda | A | 28 | 3.4 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 42.9% | 2.06 | 0.14 | 0.33 |
| J. Ito | M | 32 | 4.4 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 66.7% | 1.36 | 0.17 | 0.25 |
| K. Itakura | D | 28 | 9.9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 20.0% | 0.51 | 0.20 | 1.00 |
| A. Tanaka | M | 27 | 6.6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% | 0.76 | 0.20 | 0.50 |
| W. Endo | M | 32 | 9.6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% | 0.31 | 0.33 | 1.00 |
| K. Mitoma | M | 28 | 5.3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% | 0.57 | 0.33 | 1.00 |
| S. Machino | A | 26 | 1.2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 66.7% | 2.50 | 0.33 | 0.50 |
| R. Morishita | M | 28 | 0.8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 1.25 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| K. Machida | D | 28 | 9.7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 20.0% | 0.52 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| SQUAD TOTAL | 165.8 | 48 | 194 | 102 | 52.6% | — | — | — | ||
Goalkeeping stats — AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2026
| Player | Age | MP | Starts | Min | 90s | GA | GA90 | SoTA | Saves | Save% | CS | CS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z. Suzuki | 23 | 10 | 10 | 903 | 10.0 | 2 | 0.20 | — | 12 | — | — | — |
| K. Osako | 26 | 3 | 3 | 247 | 2.7 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 0 | — | — | — |
| K. Tani | 25 | 2 | 1 | 104 | 1.2 | 1 | 0.83 | — | 2 | — | — | — |
| D. Maekawa | 31 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 1.1 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| SQUAD TOTAL | 17 | 15 | 1353 | 15.0 | 3 | 0.20 | — | 15 | — | — | — | |
Playing time — AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2026
| Player | Pos | Age | MP | Min | Min% | Starts | Subs | Complete 90s | PPM | On-Off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z. Suzuki | G | 23 | 10 | 903 | 6.1% | 10 | 0 | — | — | — |
| K. Itakura | D | 28 | 11 | 891 | 6.0% | 10 | 1 | — | — | — |
| K. Machida | D | 28 | 11 | 872 | 5.8% | 10 | 1 | — | — | — |
| W. Endo | M | 32 | 11 | 862 | 5.8% | 10 | 1 | — | — | — |
| H. Morita | M | 30 | 10 | 742 | 5.0% | 9 | 1 | — | — | — |
| R. Dōan | M | 27 | 12 | 726 | 4.9% | 10 | 2 | — | — | — |
| T. Minamino | M | 30 | 12 | 710 | 4.8% | 10 | 2 | — | — | — |
| A. Ueda | A | 27 | 9 | 692 | 4.6% | 9 | 0 | — | — | — |
| T. Kubo | M | 24 | 11 | 664 | 4.4% | 8 | 3 | — | — | — |
| D. Kamada | M | 29 | 12 | 658 | 4.4% | 8 | 4 | — | — | — |
| S. Taniguchi | D | 34 | 8 | 605 | 4.1% | 7 | 1 | — | — | — |
| A. Tanaka | M | 27 | 9 | 597 | 4.0% | 6 | 3 | — | — | — |
| H. Ito | D | 26 | 6 | 498 | 3.3% | 5 | 1 | — | — | — |
| K. Mitoma | M | 28 | 7 | 477 | 3.2% | 6 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Keito Nakamura | A | 25 | 10 | 422 | 2.8% | 4 | 6 | — | — | — |
| J. Ito | M | 32 | 9 | 398 | 2.7% | 2 | 7 | — | — | — |
| Y. Sugawara | D | 25 | 5 | 319 | 2.1% | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Koki Ogawa | A | 28 | 8 | 319 | 2.1% | 3 | 5 | — | — | — |
| A. Seko | D | 25 | 4 | 315 | 2.1% | 3 | 1 | — | — | — |
| D. Maeda | A | 28 | 7 | 303 | 2.0% | 2 | 5 | — | — | — |
| K. Osako | G | 26 | 3 | 247 | 1.7% | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| K. Takai | D | 21 | 4 | 219 | 1.5% | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| D. Hashioka | D | 26 | 4 | 209 | 1.4% | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| K. Sano | M | 25 | 3 | 199 | 1.3% | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| T. Tomiyasu | D | 27 | 2 | 166 | 1.1% | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
PPM = Points per match when player was on the pitch.
Discipline & miscellaneous — AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2026
| Player | Pos | Age | 90s | CrdY | CrdR | Fls | Fld | Off | Int | TklW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K. Machida | D | 28 | 9.7 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | — | — | — |
| T. Kubo | M | 24 | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | — | — | — |
| D. Kamada | M | 29 | 7.3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | — | — | — |
| H. Ito | D | 26 | 5.5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — |
| K. Mitoma | M | 28 | 5.3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 7 | — | — | — |
| A. Seko | D | 25 | 3.5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | — | — | — |
| D. Maeda | A | 28 | 3.4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Z. Suzuki | G | 23 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| K. Itakura | D | 28 | 9.9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — |
| W. Endo | M | 32 | 9.6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 15 | — | — | — |
| H. Morita | M | 30 | 8.2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — |
| R. Dōan | M | 27 | 8.1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — |
| T. Minamino | M | 30 | 7.9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | — | — | — |
| A. Ueda | A | 27 | 7.7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 12 | — | — | — |
| S. Taniguchi | D | 34 | 6.7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — |
| A. Tanaka | M | 27 | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Keito Nakamura | A | 25 | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — |
| J. Ito | M | 32 | 4.4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Y. Sugawara | D | 25 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Koki Ogawa | A | 28 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| K. Osako | G | 26 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| K. Takai | D | 21 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| D. Hashioka | D | 26 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — |
| K. Sano | M | 25 | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — |
| T. Tomiyasu | D | 27 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — |
| SQUAD TOTAL | 165.8 | 7 | 0 | 168 | 120 | — | — | — | ||
CrdY = Yellow cards · CrdR = Red cards · Fls = Fouls committed · Fld = Fouls drawn · Off = Offsides · Int = Interceptions · TklW = Tackles won
Scores & fixtures — AFC World Cup Qualifiers 2026
| Date | MD | Venue | Opponent | Result | GF | GA | Formation | Captain | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2023 | 1 | Home | Myanmar | W | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Nov 21, 2023 | 2 | Away | Syria | W | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mar 21, 2024 | 3 | Home | North Korea | W | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mar 26, 2024 | 4 | Away | North Korea | W | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Jun 6, 2024 | 5 | Away | Myanmar | W | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2024 | 6 | Home | Syria | W | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sep 5, 2024 | 7 | Home | China | W | 7 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sep 10, 2024 | 8 | Away | Bahrain | W | 5 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Oct 10, 2024 | 9 | Away | Saudi Arabia | W | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Oct 15, 2024 | 10 | Home | Australia | D | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Nov 15, 2024 | 11 | Away | Indonesia | W | 4 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Nov 19, 2024 | 12 | Away | China | W | 3 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Mar 20, 2025 | 13 | Home | Bahrain | W | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Mar 25, 2025 | 14 | Home | Saudi Arabia | D | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Jun 5, 2025 | 15 | Away | Australia | L | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Jun 10, 2025 | 16 | Home | Indonesia | W | 6 | 0 | — | — | — |
Qualifying record: AFC 3rd Round — Group C winners
Formation usage — 2024–2026
| Formation | Times Used | W | D | L | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4-2-1 | 11 | — | — | — | 73.3% |
| 4-2-3-1 | 2 | — | — | — | 13.3% |
| 4-4-2 | 1 | — | — | — | 6.7% |
| 3-4-3 | 1 | — | — | — | 6.7% |
Primary formation: 3-4-2-1 (used in 73.3% of qualifying matches)
All-time World Cup record
| World Cup Appearances | 8 |
| Total Matches | 26 |
| Record | W7 D6 L13 |
| Win Rate | 26.9% |
| Goals | 27 scored, 36 conceded (GD -9) |
| Titles | 0 |
| Best Finish | Round of 16 (2002, 2018, 2022) |
Year-by-year results
| Year | Host | Result | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Qatar | Round of 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2018 | Russia | Round of 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 2014 | Brazil | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2010 | South Africa | Round of 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 2006 | Germany | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 2002 | South Korea/Japan | Round of 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 1998 | France | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 8 editions | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 27 | 36 | |
Japan all-time top scorers at World Cups
| # | Player | Goals | Tournaments | Years Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏆 1 | Keisuke Honda | 4 | 3 | 2010–2018 |
| 2 | Ritsu Doan | 3 | 1 | 2022 |
| 3 | Takuma Asano | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| 4 | Junichi Inamoto | 3 | 2 | 2002–2006 |
| 5 | Shinji Okazaki | 2 | 2 | 2014–2018 |
Head-to-head vs Group F opponents
vs Netherlands
2
Total
0
Japan W
1
Draws
1
Netherlands W
Last meeting: Netherlands 2-2 Japan · June 2026
vs Tunisia
3
Total
2
Japan W
0
Draws
1
Tunisia W
Last meeting: Japan 2-0 Tunisia · October 2023
vs Sweden
1
Total
0
Japan W
1
Draws
0
Sweden W
Last meeting: Japan 1-1 Sweden · June 2026
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