Japan team announced the list of players gathered

Preparing for the opening match against Vietnam at the 2023 Asian Cup, the Japanese team prepared very seriously.

The 2023 Asian Cup Finals will take place from January 12 to February 10, 2024 in Qatar. (Source: AFC)

The 2023 Asian Cup will take place from January 12 to February 10, 2024. Japan is in Group D, along with Vietnam, Iraq and Indonesia. Japan and Vietnam will have their opening match in the Asian tournament on January 14, 2024, in Doha (Qatar).

To prepare for the above match and for the entire 2023 Asian Cup campaign, the Japanese team has planned very carefully. On December 28, the Japanese team will gather.

Most of Japan's top football stars playing in Europe have been called back home to attend the 2023 Asian Cup.

The most notable players on this list include central defender Ko Itakura (currently playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Hiroki Ito (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), midfielder Ritsu Doan (SC Freiburg, Germany), Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco), striker Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord, Netherlands)...

Japan is also the team that announced the list of players participating in the 2023 Asian Cup the earliest among the teams in Group D, one of the teams that announced the list the earliest in this tournament.

It is possible that the Japanese team will also have some changes in the 23 players announced by coach Moriyasu a few days ago, but probably only if there are players injured. Except for that case, the current Japanese team list is unlikely to have any major changes.

After gathering troops on December 28, coach Moriyasu's team will have a friendly match with Thailand on January 1, 2024, in Tokyo (Japan).

The reason why Japan agreed to play a friendly match with Thailand, in addition to maintaining relations with coach Masatada Ishii (Japanese) of the Thai team, is also because Japan wants to aim for the match with the Vietnamese team.

Basically, the playing styles of the two Southeast Asian teams, Vietnam and Thailand, are similar. The physiques of the players of the two teams, Thailand and Vietnam, are also quite similar. Therefore, Japan wants to get used to the playing styles of the Southeast Asian teams before they enter the Asian Cup.

After the friendly match with Thailand on January 1, 2024, there is no information that Japan will play any other friendly matches, before they meet coach Philippe Troussier's team on January 14, 2024.

Therefore, the match between Japan and Thailand in Tokyo on New Year's Day is also almost the only opportunity for the Vietnamese team to have an overview of Japan before the 2023 Asian Cup.

Thailand's Siam Sport newspaper revealed the Japanese team's schedule in the next few days: "Coach Moriyasu will gather his team on December 28, 4 days before the friendly match with the Thai team.

This is Japan's preparation match for the 2023 Asian Cup. They are in the same group with Vietnam, Iraq and Indonesia at the Asian tournament."