After Securing 2026 World Cup Spot, Japan Sets Ambitious Goal of Becoming World Champions

Japan Sets Sights Beyond 2026 World Cup Qualification

After securing a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Japan national football team now targets a historic goal — winning the tournament.

Head coach Hajime Moriyasu emphasized that while securing qualification is a great achievement, Japan must set bigger ambitions.

“At the Qatar World Cup, we only lost to Croatia on penalties. We were very close to the quarterfinals,” said Moriyasu.
“The JFA has publicly committed that Japan will be world champions by 2050. We must keep moving towards this target.”

Endo Urges Focus on World Cup Title Dream

Captain Wataru Endo also stressed the importance of keeping the squad focused despite qualification being secured.

“Now that we know we’re going to the World Cup, we must use this time to prepare — we want to become World Cup champions,” added the Liverpool midfielder.