Japan are the first team to name their final squad for the 2022 World Cup with head coach Hajime Moriyasu selecting 26 players for the upcoming event in Qatar.
Japan are aiming to reach the quarter finals of the World cup for the first time in their seventh appearance as they take on Germany, Spain and Costa Rica in Group E.
Following the competitiveness of the Group, Hajime Moriyasu has named a side including former Barcelona prodigy, Takefusa Kubo, former Liverpool player Takumi Minamino, Maya Yoshida (Schalke) and former Inter Milan full back Yuto Nagatomo.
The final squad consist of four goalkeepers, nine defenders, 11 midfielders and three forwards.
Goalkeepers: Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg/FRA), Daniel Schmidt (Sint-Truiden/BEL)
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Maya Yoshida (Schalke/GER), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal/ENG), Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Reds), Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town/ENG), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Ko Itakura (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart/GER)
Midfielders: Wataru Endo (Stuttgart/GER), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting/POR), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Dusseldorf/GER), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Junya Ito (Reims/FRA), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton/ENG), Takumi Minamino (Monaco/FRA), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus), Gaku Shibasaki (Leganes/ESP), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad/ESP), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg/GER)
Forwards: Daizen Maeda (Celtic/SCO), Takuma Asano (Bochum/GER), Ayase Ueda (Cercle Brugge/BEL)
By: Frank Appiah|3news.com|Ghana