Japan Aim for World Cup Quarter-Finals as Dark Horse
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- Japan are unbeaten in their past nine matches against European opposition and open Group F against the Netherlands on Sunday (21:00 BST), with Sweden and Tunisia also in the group
- Hajime Moriyasu told World Soccer Magazine his goal is for Japan to be 'one of the best of the best,' with Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada and Leeds United's Ao Tanaka in the squad
- Maya Yoshida, 37, who captained Japan in 2022 and is travelling as a non-playing 'support player,' said reaching the quarter-finals — a stage Japan have never reached — is the main goal
- Since their 2022 round-of-16 penalty shootout loss to Croatia, Japan have beaten England, Germany, and Brazil
- Japan were the first non-host nation to qualify for the 2026 finals after an almost perfect qualifying campaign, with 19 of the 26 players from the Qatar squad returning
- Other dark horse picks alongside Japan include Mexico, Ecuador, Turkey, and South Korea, according to BBC Sport pundits Chris Sutton, Rachel Corsie, and Stephen Houghton
Why it matters: Japan arrive at an expanded 48-team World Cup with concrete recent results — wins over England, Germany, and Brazil since Qatar — and 19 of 26 returning players from 2022, making Yoshida's quarter-final target a realistic milestone rather than hyperbole. With Moriyasu publicly stating his aim is to win the tournament and most squad members playing weekly in Europe's top five leagues, Japan's ceiling has shifted from 'plucky outsider' to genuine contender in a format that gives dark horses more room to run.
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