Japan’s under-24 men’s soccer team may be contending for Olympic gold on home soil next month, but their road to victory runs through Europe.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu’s 18-man squad for the Tokyo Games features a record nine players — including two of three overage selections — belonging to European clubs, representing a dramatic shift from a squad that sent just two overseas-based players to Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
For Moriyasu, who was put in charge of Japan’s men’s Olympic team in the fall of 2017 before also being appointed as the senior Samurai Blue’s head coach a year later, Tuesday’s announcement was the conclusion of a process that has included as many as 90 players.
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