Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada has been selected in the Japan squad for the 2026 World Cup. The 29-year-old will be a key member of the side who many think could go far at this tournament.
Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada has been selected in the Japan squad for the 2026 World Cup.
As the main footballing event of the calendar year gets gradually closer, teams are beginning to name their squads and Japan are the latest team to do so.
Kamada follows in the footsteps of Evann Guessand, who made the Ivory Coast squad, and Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix, who have both been selected in the France squad.
Kamada has been a pivotal player for Palace this season, following on from the FA Cup triumph a year ago.
His presence in the heart of midfield with Adam Wharton is undoubtedly Palace’s best midfield combination and it has seen the Eagles reach the Conference League final as they look to end another season with a trophy.
In all competitions, Kamada has played in 42 matches for Palace, including 14 in the Conference League.
Japan are, for many, a team that are expected to pack a punch and potentially go far at this World Cup, as shown when they defeated England for the first time at Wembley in the last international window.
Kamada secured his fourth consecutive Wembley triumph that day and he will hope he can star for Japan on the biggest stage of them all.
One of the big omissions of the entire tournament thus far sees Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma miss out on selection after he sustained a hamstring injury against Wolves.
But it remains a Japan side that will be looking to take on more scalps along the way to a potentially historic run.
Kamada has 49 caps for his country, scoring 12 goals, four of which came during World Cup qualifiers in 2025.
The 29-year-old is one of just three Premier League players in the Japan squad, alongside Ao Tanaka of Leeds and Liverpool’s Wataru Endo.
In form Celtic forward Daizen Maeda will likely catch attention, as will the lively Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad.
Japan begin their World Cup campaign with the challenging task against the Netherlands on June 14 in Arlington, Texas.
They then head to Mexico and Guadalajara, where they clash with Tunisia on June 21, before returning stateside to Texas to face Sweden.
They have a friendly against Iceland scheduled for May 31.
Japan had their joint-best World Cup performance in 2022, reaching the round of 16 stage before being eliminated by Croatia on penalties.
They will be looking to advance past that stage and into the quarter-finals and beyond this summer and make history in the process.