Japan U-19 National Team to Join North America World Cup... "Train with A National Team and Watch Group Stage Matches, Like Kubo and Ito 8 Years Ago"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Japan U-19 national football team will serve as the training partner for the Seong In (CEO) team at the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup.

Japanese outlet "Soccer King" reported on the 20th that "the Japan Football Association (JFA) Technical Committee confirmed the U-19 national team's participation as the World Cup training partner through a briefing by Committee Chairman Masakuni Yamamoto."

The U-19 squad, consisting of approximately 20 players, will be led by coach Satoshi Yamaguchi. They will join the pre-World Cup camp in Monterrey, Mexico, and spend the three group stage matches alongside the Seong In (CEO) team.

During the same period, the "Maurice Revello Tournament" held in France will be operated under a two-team system with coach Daisuke Sugawara serving as the interim head coach.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan canceled the U-19 team's participation during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. However, the previous 2018 Russia tournament proved highly effective. Players who participated as training partners at that time—Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Daisuke Sugawara (Werder Bremen), Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich), and Daiki Hasioka (KRC Genk)—have since grown into key members of the current Japan national team.

Chairman Yamamoto stated, "This time, the players will directly watch World Cup matches and train together. Looking toward the future, we expect this stimulating participation to have a definitely positive effect on the players' growth."

Regarding the composition of the squad participating in both tournaments, there will be no distinction between the first team and the second team. Chairman Yamamoto explained, "There is no A team or B team. We will structure the roster on a broad scale, considering the best direction for the players' growth with the goal of the 2027 Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan U-20 World Cup."

Furthermore, the full authority for selecting the training partner has been delegated to U-19 coach Satoshi Yamaguchi, not to Hajime Moriyasu, the head coach of the Japan national team.

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*This content was translated by AI.