Rising Japan faces test of resolve at Asian Cup

Amid a chorus of European club managers complaining about the midseason loss of key Japanese players, the Samurai Blue are looking to lift the Asian Cup in Qatar en route to their pursuit of an even loftier goal: the 2026 World Cup.

Managing Asian football’s highest-placed team in the FIFA rankings (17th), Hajime Moriyasu has pulled some surprises but “assembled the best members to win” the Asian Cup, with the tournament’s most successful team seeking its fifth championship to widen the gap over three-time winners Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“I’ve been saying we’ll look to win the Asian Cup after setting our short— and midterm targets, as well as the long-term target that is the 2026 World Cup,” said Moriyasu, whose side fell at the last hurdle in the 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates with a 3-1 final loss to Qatar.