Chiba Training Camp Sets the Stage
Japan’s national football team opened its 2024 World Cup preparations in Chiba, where a public training session drew a crowd of supporters and media alike. The session marked the beginning of a concentrated effort to fine‑tune tactics ahead of the tournament’s opening matches.
Among the standout participants were Ayase Ueda, the Feyenoord striker who topped the Dutch Eredivisie’s scoring charts last season, and Ritsu Doan of Eintracht Frankfurt, who joined the drill alongside Mainz midfielder Kaishu Sano. Both players are expected to bring club form that has been honed in Europe’s competitive leagues.
Veteran defender Maya Yoshida, who captained Japan at the 2022 World Cup while playing for Los Angeles Galaxy, also featured in the Chiba session. His presence underscores the blend of experience and emerging talent that the coaching staff is balancing.
The squad will soon relocate to North America for a pre‑tournament camp in Monterrey, Mexico, before moving its base to Nashville, United States. From there, Japan will face the Netherlands in Dallas on June 14, Tunisia in Monterrey on June 20, and Sweden in Dallas on June 25, all part of Group F.
European club fixtures have already offered a preview of the players’ readiness. Ayase Ueda’s goal‑laden performances for Feyenoord, Ritsu Doan’s contributions at Eintracht Frankfurt, and Kaishu Sano’s role at Mainz have been closely watched. In the Netherlands, Ajax’s recent victory over Utrecht saw defenders Ko Itakura and Takehiro Tomiyasu come on as substitutes, while Liverpool’s Wataru Endo returned from injury but remained on the bench for the match against Brentford. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada was taken off at halftime during a loss to Arsenal, and the club is set to contest the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.
The upcoming tournament will be staged across three nations — United States, Mexico and Canada — marking a historic expansion of the World Cup format. For Japan, the schedule presents a tight cluster of matches in the Dallas‑Monterrey corridor, a logistical challenge that the team is tackling with focused training and strategic planning.