Hajime Moriyasu

Hajime Moriyasu, a former Japan international himself, has managed the Samurai Blue since 2018 and guided them to the 2022 World Cup round of sixteen, where they beat Germany and Spain in the group stage — arguably the biggest results in Japanese football history. He typically deploys a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 that presses aggressively high and transitions at speed, demanding technical discipline and collective shape from every outfield player.

Moriyasu typically lines up in a 4-2-3-1, with Endo and Ao Tanaka forming a disciplined double pivot that allows Kubo and Ritsu Doan to press high and wide. Japan defend with a compact mid-block and spring forward in rapid transitions, using the width of Yukinari Sugawara and Hiroki Ito as overlapping full-backs to stretch opponents. Kamada operates as the ten, threading passes into the channels.