Japan arrives at the World Cup without Mitoma, Minamino, or their captain — and they're still terrifying
Injuries wiped out the Blue Samurai's biggest names, but the players who remain have already beaten Brazil and England in this cycle
Three key absences. A captain ruled out days before kick-off. And yet Japan arrive at the World Cup as one of the most dangerous sides in Group F.
Mitoma, of Brighton, and Minamino, of Monaco, picked up injuries and will miss the tournament. Endo, Liverpool's midfielder and the dressing-room leader, was cut just days before the opener — also through injury. According to ge, none of the three recovered in time.
What's left? A team that already beat Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil — coming from 2-0 down to win — and knocked England out 1-0 back in March. All of that without a single player at a European giant, except for Ito at Bayern Munich, who isn't even a regular starter there.
So who steps into the spotlight? Ayase Ueda, the Eredivisie's top scorer with 24 goals for Feyenoord, scored the winner against Brazil — a header from a corner. Ritsu Doan wears the No. 10 and produced one of his best performances in that very game against the Seleção. Daichi Kamada, of Crystal Palace, has grown even more important since Mitoma's absence and is expected to play as a second midfielder. Takefusa Kubo, a Real Madrid academy product now at Real Sociedad, turned down around €140 million from Saudi football to keep developing in Europe.
Golmetria's model gives Japan a 36% chance of winning Group F — with the Netherlands, their opening opponents this Sunday, leading the way at 43%. In the betting markets, the Japanese are priced at +4500 for the title, well behind the Dutch.
But this Japan side has already shown it doesn't care about probabilities. Who would have backed them to come from behind and beat Brazil? Who expected them to topple England without their best players?
The opener is Sunday at 17:00 (Brasília time), against the Netherlands. Group F is about to ignite.