The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association [JFA], the govering body for football in Japan. Japan is one of the most successful teams in Asia. This Copa America 2019, Japan will be sending full strength senior team members in June in Brazil to show the best performance in the event.
Japan’s first and only appearance in Copa America was in 1999 and this will be the second time it is an invited nation in Copa America along with Qatar.
Why Japan being a Asian Nation is Playing in Copa America this season?
The South American Football Federation consists of ten member nations and to make the tournament workable structure and total of 12 members were required. Initially, 3 teams from North America and 3 from Asia were decided to make it a sixteen team tournament but finally it was decided to make it a 12 team tournament with Japan and Qatar invited as is the structure of other tournaments since 1993.
Let’s have a look at the team members including coach as declared by Japan Football Association who will be representing Japan in Copa America 2019:
Coach : Hajime Moriyasu
Japan Final Squad For Copa America 2019
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg), Ryosuke Kojima (Oita Trinita), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
Defenders: Daiki Sugioka (Shonan Bellmare), Ko Itakura (Groningen), Naomichi Ueda (Cercle Brugge), Teruki Hara (Sagan Tosu), Daiki Suga (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Sint Truiden), Tomoki Iwata (Oita Trinita), Yugo Tatsuta (Shimizu S Pulse)
Midfielders: Yuta Nakayama (PEC Zwolle), Kota Watanabe (Tokyo Verdy), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Tatsuya Ito (Hamburg), Shoya Nakajima (Al-Duhail), Koji Miyoshi (Yokohama F. Marinos), Taishi Matsumoto (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hiroki Abe (Kashima Antlers), Takefusa Kubo (FC Tokyo),
Forwards:Â Daizen Maeda (Matsumoto Yamaga), Ayase Ueda (Hosei University), Shinji Okazaki (Leicester City)
Japan Key Players :
Eiji Kawashima, Takefuso Kubo, Shinji Okazaki
Japan Squad :
| Position | Player | Age |
| GK | M Higashiguchi | 32 |
| GK | S Gonda | 29 |
| DF | Y Nagatomo | 31 |
| DF | M Yoshida | 29 |
| DF | T Shiotani | 29 |
| DF | T Makino | 31 |
| DF | W Endo | 25 |
| DF | H Sakai | 28 |
| DF | G Miura | 23 |
| DF | S Muroya | 24 |
| MF | G Haraguchi | 27 |
| MF | G Shibasaki | 26 |
| MF | T Inui | 30 |
| MF | T Aoyama | 32 |
| FW | Y Osako | 28 |
| FW | J Ito | 25 |
| FW | Y Muto | 26 |
| FW | T Minamino | 23 |