On Friday 20 May, Head Coach MORIYASU Hajime of the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) announced the squad for the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2022 and KIRIN CUP SOCCER 2022 to be held in June. KAMADA Daichi (Eintracht Frankfurt), FURUHASHI Kyogo (Celtic FC), and DOAN Ritsu (PSV Eindhoven) made their return to the squad, while ITO Hiroki (VfB Stuttgart) was called up for the first time.

With just six months to go until the kick-off of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ in November, the team will have limited opportunities to prepare for the tournament, including the international match windows in June and September, and the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, which Japan are expected to play with a squad mainly consisting of players from the J.League, making these upcoming four fixtures all the more significant.

Japan will play the Paraguay National Team (at Sapporo Dome, Hokkaido) on Thursday 2 June and the Brazil National Team (at Japan National Stadium, Tokyo) on Monday 6 June in the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2022. At the KIRIN CUP SOCCER 2022, which will be held for the first time in six years, the team will face the Ghana National Team (at Noevir Stadium Kobe, Hyogo) in their first match on Friday 10 June and the final or third-place match will be played on Tuesday 14 June (at Panasonic Stadium Suita, Osaka) against either the Chile National Team or the Tunisia National Team. .....

＞＞READ MORE "JAPAN FA"