News## What is decided
The 26 are set. Wataru Endo (Liverpool) is captain. Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax) is included after months of fitness monitoring. Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo) at 39 makes a fifth World Cup, which JFA frames as a national record for individual selections.
The attacking pool is led from Europe: Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Junya Ito (KRC Genk), Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad). Goalkeeping leans on Zion Suzuki (Parma) among others.
## What is not decided
The absence Moriyasu publicly called 'a huge blow' is Kaoru Mitoma, ruled out after a hamstring injury during Brighton's Premier League match against Wolves; the head coach said a tournament return was 'difficult'. Also absent: Takumi Minamino (Monaco, ACL) and Hidemasa Morita (Sporting CP). With one of Japan's most direct wide threats off the board, the line-up question for the Netherlands opener is no longer 'who plays wide' so much as 'how does Japan generate the first counter after a regain' — a topic the existing M031 preview already raised before this squad call.
## Practical implications for Group F
Points: a draw at M031 keeps Japan in control of the group entering Tunisia and Sweden. Schedule travel rest-wise, Japan opens June 14 in Arlington, then face Tunisia on June 21 and Sweden on June 25 (per the Chant 26 schedule). Lineup question: how Moriyasu compensates for Mitoma's wide carry without changing Japan's identity around fast transitions. Opponent frame: see the OPPONENT_WATCH note on the May 27 Dutch squad confirmation.
## What this article is not
This is not a 'Japan can / cannot win the group' piece. It's a squad-snapshot the editor can read alongside the M031 preview and the WEEKLY group-F-path piece without overstating any single selection.
Pair with the M031 preview and the existing Group F path article; refresh once Moriyasu names a starting XI nearer to T-48h.
JAPAN_FOCUS · AI auto-published
Samurai Blue 26 named: Mitoma out, Endo captain, Nagatomo's fifth — what is and isn't decided
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu confirmed Japan's 26-man World Cup squad on May 15 in Tokyo, with captain Wataru Endo leading a roster that is almost entirely Europe-based. The biggest editorial fact is the Mitoma absence; the second is that key fitness flags (Tomiyasu, Endo) cleared the cut. Group F begins June 14 against the Netherlands in Arlington.
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