FIFA World Cup
Itakura takes over from Wataru Endo following the Liverpool midfielder's withdrawal from the squad and his subsequent retirement from international football having failed to fully recover from a foot injury.
"The reason why I asked Itakura to take over was because he was someone who has been putting effort into fighting together on the pitch and off the pitch," said Moriyasu.
"He understands fully what I have been preaching to the team, he realises what has been communicated. He can communicate with each individual player and there's a lot of expectation from him in terms of the team work. So Itakura is the captain.
"That said, each and every player in the squad is very professional and they can all work for the team collectively and they all have the leadership spirit. It was difficult for me to make that decision to decide one leader as the captain."
"He understands fully what I have been preaching to the team, he realises what has been communicated. He can communicate with each individual player and there's a lot of expectation from him in terms of the team work. So Itakura is the captain.
"That said, each and every player in the squad is very professional and they can all work for the team collectively and they all have the leadership spirit. It was difficult for me to make that decision to decide one leader as the captain."
There was surprise in some quarters that Endo was replaced in the squad by striker Shuto Machino, but Moriyasu defended the decision to call up the Borussia Monchengladbach forward instead of another central midfielder.
"I used Endo for the Iceland match (a 1-0 win in Tokyo on May 31) and also Itakura, (Takehiro) Tomiyasu in the No. 6 position," said Moriyasu. "I'm sure there are enough people already in the team that could cover such functions and I will be able to organise the team and be able to win.
"Of course we have to go forward and be able to score goals so I thought Machino would be the best option to replace Endo. This is a last minute change and I had to look at character as well as capabilities, technique, skills and Machino is a great football player, but also that he can make great contributions to the team work."
"I used Endo for the Iceland match (a 1-0 win in Tokyo on May 31) and also Itakura, (Takehiro) Tomiyasu in the No. 6 position," said Moriyasu. "I'm sure there are enough people already in the team that could cover such functions and I will be able to organise the team and be able to win.
"Of course we have to go forward and be able to score goals so I thought Machino would be the best option to replace Endo. This is a last minute change and I had to look at character as well as capabilities, technique, skills and Machino is a great football player, but also that he can make great contributions to the team work."
Moriyasu is expecting a difficult challenge in a group that also features Tunisia and Sweden, even though he has previously declared his desire to lead Japan into uncharted territory at the FIFA World Cup.
The Japanese have advanced to the last 16 on four occasions - in 2002, 2010, 2018 and 2022 - but have yet to win a game in the knockout rounds.
"We have to survive this stage no matter what, but at the same time I see that it is a very tough group," he said.
"The top of the top talent is found in the Netherlands team. In terms of the actual matches, any team from this group could win. Tunisia had clean sheets coming through the qualifiers and Sweden have top level players as well, top level strikers.
"So we don't know who is going to survive from this group. It's really hard to predict."
The Japanese have advanced to the last 16 on four occasions - in 2002, 2010, 2018 and 2022 - but have yet to win a game in the knockout rounds.
"We have to survive this stage no matter what, but at the same time I see that it is a very tough group," he said.
"The top of the top talent is found in the Netherlands team. In terms of the actual matches, any team from this group could win. Tunisia had clean sheets coming through the qualifiers and Sweden have top level players as well, top level strikers.
"So we don't know who is going to survive from this group. It's really hard to predict."
Fun Facts
● This will be Japan’s eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance – a run stretching back to 1998. It’s the second-longest run of consecutive participations by an Asian nation behind Korea Republic’s current run of 11 consecutive tournaments.
● Japan have never advanced beyond the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup. In fact, they hold the record for the most matches played without ever reaching the quarter-finals at the tournament (25).
● Japan scored more goals than any other team in the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ - Road to 26 – they found the net 54 times, which included a 3-0 forfeit victory against DPR Korea. Outside of the three hosts, Japan were the first nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
● Three Japanese players were involved in 10+ goals in the AFC Asian Qualifiers: Takefusa Kubo (12 - 4 goals, 8 assists), Junya Ito (11 - 1 goal, 10 assists) and Ayase Ueda (10 - 8 goals, 2 assists). That’s more than any other Asian team during the qualifying campaign.
● Hajime Moriyasu is the only head coach to manage Japan in more than 100 matches,
having taken charge in July 2018. He is also the first to lead Japan at two FIFA World Cups, after guiding them to the Round of 16 in 2022, where they were eliminated on penalties by Croatia.
Netherlands v Japan
Venue: Dallas Stadium (Zapopan)
Kickoff: Sunday, 15:00 (UTC-7)
