JAPAN
Head Coach: Hajime Moriyasu
Player To Watch: Koji Miyoshi
The defending champions will again be considered amongst the favorites, but in reality this will be a chance for Moriyasu, who was named head coach of Japan’s 2020 Olympic squad in October, to imprint his philosophy on a crop of promising U-21s.
The majority of the squad have been drawn from Japan’s U-20 World Cup side, and 6 players who participated in the M-150 Cup also made the cut. Expect lots of lineup changes and players tested in positions different from their usual club assignments, as Moriyasu will be looking for signs of potential from the group of players who participated in the U-20 World Cup.
“This will be our first ‘official’ tournament so I hope we grow in those conditions,” Moriyasu said. With a bigger squad (than M150) I can have a wider look at this generation of players and I hope we can earn good results.”
Trivia!
Koji Miyoshi is the only player from recently-crowned J.League champions Kawasaki Frontale in the squad, having made 13 appearances in the 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League campaign. He will spend the 2018 season on loan at Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.