Hajime Moriyasu

Hajime Moriyasu is the head coach of Japan at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, his second consecutive World Cup at the helm of the Samurai Blue. Born in Kakegawa, Shizuoka, on 23 August 1968, he spent almost his entire playing career as a defensive midfielder at Sanfrecce Hiroshima and earned 35 caps for Japan, appearing at the 1996 Olympics and the 1998 World Cup squad pool.

He began coaching in Hiroshima's youth setup and was promoted to first-team head coach in 2012. What followed was one of the great J.League dynasties: Sanfrecce won the J1 title in 2012, 2013 and 2015, with Moriyasu's 3-4-2-1 system imitated across the league. He moved into the Japan Football Association in 2017, taking the Olympic team to fourth place at Tokyo 2020 while also serving as senior head coach from July 2018.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar his side became the first nation to defeat both Germany and Spain in the same group stage before falling on penalties to Croatia in the round of 16. The JFA extended his contract through to 2026. Japan are placed in Group E. With a player pool blending European-based stars — Takefusa Kubo, Kaoru Mitoma, Wataru Endo, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Daichi Kamada — and a clearly defined transition-and-pressing identity, Moriyasu's task is to take Japan past the round of 16 for the first time and chase a long-stated federation goal of a World Cup semi-final.