However, the most attention was attracted by the invitation to 39-year-old veteran Yuto Nagatomo, who will be making his fifth appearance at the World Cup.
Nagatomo did not hope for an invitation because he is at the end of his career as a Tokyo player. However, head coach Moriyasu decided that he needed the veteran’s experience, not only on the field, but also off it.
Emotions everywhere as Yuto Nagatomo burst into tears after hearing his name included in Japan’s FIFA World Cup squad at 39 YEARS OLD
Yes… he will be playing in his FIFTH World Cup. We are going so hard for Japan this tournament pic.twitter.com/ngLFugpbLJ https://t.co/C6o70mvx6D
— Kara (@UTDKara) May 15, 2026
The experienced defender watched the media conference broadcast live, and when the coach read his name, he couldn’t stop the tears, which showed how much his performance for the national team means to him.
Yuto Nagatomo has made 144 appearances for Japan and scored four goals, and made his debut in 2008. He is best known to the European public for his tenure at Inter, for which he made 210 appearances, 11 goals, and 18 assists from 2011 to 2018. He also played for Galatasaray, Cesena and Marseille.
This will be his fifth World Cup appearance.
(Vijesti.ba)
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