Player Watch · Sep 30, 2026
Injury crisis before Ecuador: Watanabe and Kumasaka out, Mochizuki called up, and Zion Suzuki is expected back in goal
The October window is turning into a test of depth before a ball is kicked. The JFA confirmed on September 29 that Feyenoord center back Tsuyoshi Watanabe has left camp after being forced off against Venezuela, with Kashiwa Reysol midfielder Koki Kumasaka also withdrawn injured. Sports Hochi counts Watanabe as the fourth player to leave this camp. In comes Machida Zelvia defender Henry Heroki Mochizuki, back with Samurai Blue for the first time in roughly a year. There is good news too. At his pre-match press conference at Nissan Stadium, Moriyasu said that barring anything in training, Zion Suzuki will start in goal against Ecuador, after the side issue that kept him out of the Uruguay game. Ko Itakura and Junnosuke Suzuki were also cleared to play after ankle knocks, per SOCCER DIGEST. Moriyasu has promised plenty of changes from the Venezuela lineup. Kickoff is October 1 at 19:10 JST, which is 3:10am Pacific for the diehards in the US.
Source: Sports Hochi via Yahoo! News Japan