Japan’s Football Powerhouses: Unleashing the Strongest Samurai on the Pitch

In the final Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, the Japanese national team won 7-0 at home against China on September 5th, and 5-0 away against Bahrain on the 11th. With the Japanese national team in such good form, a debate has been brewing about the strongest formation.

It all started with a harsh assessment by soccer world commentator Sergio Echigo. He stated his opinion that Japan’s offensive three-back style only worked for weaker countries, and would not work against countries that are participating in the World Cup. In response, online comments were made about the importance of the Japanese national team being able to flexibly change their tactics depending on the opponent, and this even led to a discussion of the current strongest members of the Japanese national team. The following formation was deemed to be the strongest.

GK: Ayana Suzuki (Parma/Italy)

Defenders (from left): Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich/Germany), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach/Germany), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal/England)

Midfielders (from left): Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion/England), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting Lisbon/Portugal), Wataru Endo (Liverpool/England), Junya Ito (Stade de Reims/France)

On the left of the forward line, Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace/England) and Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad/Spain) are on the left, and at the top, Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord Rotterdam/Netherlands)

There was also a heated debate as people were divided on who to choose between Kamada and striker Minamino Takumi (Monaco/France), Ito and midfielder Doan Ritsu (Freiburg/Germany), Morita and midfielder Tanaka Ao (Leeds United/English second division), Itakura and defender Taniguchi Shogo (Sint-Truiden/Belgium), or Suzuki and goalkeeper Tani Koki (Machida Zelvia).

Comments such as, “Will it be a split between Ito and Doan? I think Morita and Tanaka have also been fully rated,” and “Doan has started in two consecutive games and Ito has been on the bench, so perhaps coach Moriyasu has a much higher opinion of Doan than we think. I also get the sense that he has trust in Ito,” have been expressed.

There are many promising players whose names have not been included here, so it is too early to make a decision based on this list alone, but perhaps each and every one of these discussions will add up to an improvement in the level of Japanese soccer.