Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma is out of Japan’s World Cup squad after sustaining a hamstring injury against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month.

The 28-year-old has been limited to just 27 appearances across all competitions for the south-coast club this season due to injuries, and he will now miss the summer tournament.

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu has, however, called up former Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu, currently at Ajax, who has not represented Japan for almost two years after a successive series of injuries.

Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo is also included despite making just eight Premier League appearances this season due to an ankle issue while veteran defender Yuto Nagatomo, 39, was named in a World Cup squad for the fifth time.

Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler had said that Mitoma was a doubt for the World Cup after the 28-year-old sustained the injury last weekend, stating that: “We really have to be patient with this injury, we cannot give a clear schedule.”

Japan’s Moriyasu said during a press-conference to announce his squad: “The medical team assessed that it would be difficult for him to get back to fitness during the tournament.”

This is Moriyasu’s second World Cup as head coach, having also worked as an assistant to former Japan manager Akira Nishino in 2018.

Japan have made the knockout stages of the past two World Cups, losing in the Round of 16 to eventual semi-finalists both times. Last time, in Qatar, they advanced to the knockout stages having defeated both Germany and Spain in the group stage.

They are in Group F alongside the Netherlands, Tunisia, and Sweden.

Are there any surprises?

There has been surprise in Japan that Moriyasu opted against taking Sporting CP defensive midfielder Hidemasa Morita, a 40-cap veteran of the national team. Morita was in the squad for nine of Japan’s World Cup qualifiers, playing in seven of them, and captaining the team against Australia.

Instead, Japan’s defensive midfield options will be Endo, who has struggled with an ankle ligament injury at Liverpool this season, and 25-year-old Mainz midfielder Kaishu Sano.

Endo has not played for Liverpool since February 11 due to a foot injury (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Are there any notable injury absentees?

Mitoma is the most high-profile absence — he is arguably Japan’s game-changer, capable of turning a game with a single moment of skill. However, the only solace is that the wing is Japan’s greatest position of strength, with the likes of Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo, Keito Nakamura, and Junya Ito all well-capable of starting.

Another player missing with injury is former Liverpool attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino, a former talisman for the national team, though his influence has waned in recent years. The 31-year-old Monaco player suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in January, which he has not recovered from in time for the tournament.

What is the one problem the manager needs to solve?

It is not a problem, per se, but it is very interesting that Moriyasu has chosen to bring four strikers — Koki Ogawa, Ayase Ueda, Kento Shiogai, and Keisuke Goto.

Ueda has had an excellent season for Feyenoord, where he is the Eredivisie’s top scorer on 25 goals, and is the expected starter. Behind him, each of the other options appears to bring something quite different.

Goto, 20, is a target man, while 21-year-old Shiogai works extremely hard out of possession, and is more of a poacher. Ogawa is probably the best option for linking play, and was Moriyasu’s preferred option for much of qualifying.

Japan World Cup 2026 squad in full

Goalkeepers: Zion Suzuki (Parma), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers)

Defenders: Yuta Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Shogo Taniguchi (Sint-Truiden), Ko Itakura (Ajax), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ajax), Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), Ayumu Seko (Le Havre), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen)

Midfielders: Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen), Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Junya Ito (Genk), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ao Tanaka (Leeds United), Keito Nakamura (Reims), Kaishu Sano (Mainz), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg)

Forwards: Koki Ogawa (NEC Nijmegen), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Kento Shiogai (VfL Wolfsburg), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden)

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— サッカー日本代表 🇯🇵 (@jfa_samuraiblue) May 15, 2026

Who are their warm-up games against?

Japan have just one warm-up match before the tournament gets underway. They will play Iceland on May 31 in Tokyo, before getting their campaign proper underway against the Netherlands in Dallas two weeks later.

Yes, 64 years is the amount of time passed since the PGA Championship was last played on this course before this weekend.

It was won by one of the game’s most iconic golfers, as Gary Player finished 2-under to beat American Bob Goalby by one shot.

It was the third major of Player’s career, before he added another six over the decade that followed.

Even at 90 years old, the South Africa was still involved in the par-3 contest at Augusta last month.

Tottenham were a bruised team last summer having finished second bottom in the WSL, with only relegated Crystal Palace conceding more goals in a poor campaign that led to the sacking of manager Robert Vilahamn.

Ho was appointed as Vilahamn’s successor, joining from Norwegian side SK Brann, who he led to the quarter-finals of the 2023-24 Women’s Champions League.

His impact was instant as Spurs won four of their opening five matches – the only defeat coming against champions Manchester City.

Impressive draws with Arsenal and Manchester United followed, meaning Spurs sat level on points with the Gunners in third at the start of 2026.

An aggressive pressing style, more creativity in possession and a structured defence were signs of improvement under Ho, as well as smart recruitment.

He was rewarded with a new long-term contract in March and – despite falling away from the top four in recent months – Spurs will go into the summer feeling positive.

Reflecting on the campaign, Ho said: “It’s been positive in numerous aspects, on and off the pitch. There has been a lot of learnings and development.

“It’s given us really strong foundations to build on in the future. I’m really pleased with how it’s gone.

“However, finishing fifth doesn’t win you anything. We want to win, compete and lift trophies.

“There is a lot of pride for the players and the staff for what they have done but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Tottenham could finish within four points of Manchester United – where Ho worked as an assistant for three years – if they beat Brighton on Saturday (13:00 BST).

It would be a boost having suffered three successive WSL defeats in March and an FA Cup quarter-final exit to Chelsea last month.

“We had a really good start then a bit of a bumpy road in the second half of the season,” added Ho.

“How we faced the adversity and the reaction to that, means we have still performed well.

“Away from the pitch, [what has pleased me is] probably the infrastructure and processes we have put in place to allow this team to be successful in the long-term and to build momentum going into the summer.”