Staff

Head Coach: OIWA Go (JFA National Coaching Staff)
Assistant Coach: HANEDA Kenji (JFA National Coaching Staff)
GK Coach: HAMANO Yukiya (JFA National Coaching Staff)
Physical Coach: YANO Yoshiharu (JFA National Coaching Staff)
Technical Staff: OCHI Shigeyuki (JFA Technical House)
Technical Staff: WATANABE Hideaki (JFA Technical House)

Squad

GK
12  KOKUBO Leo Brian (SL Benfica/Portugal)
 1   SUZUKI Zion (Sint-Truidense VV/Belgium)
23  NOZAWA Taishi Brandon (FC Tokyo)

DF
 2   UCHINO Takashi (Fortuna Dusseldorf/Germany)
21  OHATA Ayumu (Urawa Red Diamonds)
 3   NISHIO Ryuya (Cerezo Osaka)
 5   KIMURA Seiji (FC Tokyo)
15  HATA Taiga (Shonan Bellmare)
 4   SUZUKI Kaito (Jubilo Iwata)
17  NAKANO Shinya (Gamba Osaka)
22  TAKAI Kota (Kawasaki Frontale)

MF
13  HIRAKAWA Yu (FC Machida Zelvia)
20  YAMADA Fuki (Kyoto Sanga FC)
 6   KAWASAKI Sota (Kyoto Sanga FC)
18  SAITO Koki (Sparta Rotterdam/Netherlands)
19  ODA Yutaro (Heart of Midlothian FC/Scotland)
10  SUZUKI Yuito (Brondby IF/Denmark)
 7   YAMAMOTO Rihito (Sint-Truidense VV/Belgium)
 8   FUJITA Joel Chima (Sint-Truidense VV/Belgium)
14  MITO Shunsuke (Albirex Niigata)
16  MATSUKI Kuryu (FC Tokyo)

FW
 9   FUJIO Shota (FC Machida Zelvia)
11  HOSOYA Mao (Kashiwa Reysol)

Comment

OIWA Go, Head Coach U-22 Japan National Team
This is a crucial tournament to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The squad consists of players who are familiar with what we have been building up to since we launched this team. Players who had played an active role for the U-20 Japan National Team as well as those who had excelled for clubs in the J.League or other leagues abroad were prioritised throughout the selection process. This will be our first time playing against Asian teams since last year's AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2022. Considering that we will be playing under a variety of circumstances and locations, I want the players to be tough in many different ways, including mentality, team tactics, and technique. We will do our best to be well prepared for all the matches in the short, intensive three-match series in Bahrain. Not only myself, but also the players and staff will undoubtedly be expected to deliver results here, regardless of how we enter these AFC U23 Asian Cup™ qualifiers and how we wish to improve our team. In that sense, all the players and staff must be on the same page and work together. In order to build ourselves a positive momentum ahead of the second and third matches, we want to focus all of our effort on the opening match against Pakistan. When comparing our opponents, there aren't many that have been active in the same age bracket as we have, which makes it challenging to analyse their strategy. As a result, I believe we may encounter tactics that are stronger or extremely different from what we anticipated, so it will be crucial to maintain a safe margin for error and stay alerted from the minute we enter the pitch. From our analysis, we are aware that we are up against very tough opponents. We want to get ready so that we can cope with our opponents and perform at our peak in challenging circumstances.

Schedule

※All times are listed in local time.

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