Tomiyasu called up by Japan for Asian Cup

Takehiro Tomiyasu has been named in the Japan squad for the upcoming Asian Cup, and will link up with his teammates on Friday, January 5.

Our defender will be heading to Qatar for the competition, as the Samurai Blue aim to win the tournament for the fifth time to extend their record as the competition's most successful team. They last won the trophy in 2011.

Japan begin their campaign when they take on Vietnam on Sunday, January 14 in Doha, and that will be followed by group games against Iran on Friday, January 19 and Indonesia on Wednesday, January 24.

Before then, Japan tackle Jordan in a friendly, which also takes place in Doha on Tuesday, January 9.

Takehiro has made 37 appearances for the Japanese national team since his senior debut in October 2018, and has scored one goal. It will be the second time he has headed to the Asian Cup, and he hopes to go one step further than his previous experience in 2019 where he was part of the side that finished runners-up.

The competition kicks off on January 12 and will run until February 10.

We wish Takehiro all the best in the competition.

Full Japan squad

Goalkeepers: Daiya Maekawa (Vissel Kobe), Zion Suzuki (Sint-Truiden), Taishi Brandon Nozawa (FC Tokyo)

Defenders: Shogo Taniguchi (Al-Rayyan), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Gent), Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town), Koki Machida (Union SG), Seiya Maikuma (Cerezo Osaka), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart), Yukinari Sugawara (AZ Alkmaar)

Midfielders: Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting Lisbon), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg), Keito Nakamura, Junya Ito (Reims), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Takumi Minamino (Monaco), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Kaishu Sano (Kashima Antlers), Reo Hatate (Celtic)

Forwards: Takuma Asano (Bochum), Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Mao Hosoya (Kashiwa Reysol), Daizen Maeda (Celtic)