Mitoma, the Federation’s “new” Goldcrest, won Japan’s first pick | Jupiler Pro League

Kaoru Mituma’s first list for Japan is no surprise. Mituma’s recent achievements did not go unnoticed in his homeland.

His impressive performance against Seraing, where he was good at achieving a hat-trick as a substitute, was noted widely in various match reports.

Mitoma, who won the Japanese title in 2020 with Kawasaki Frontale, left Japan last August. He moved to Brighton, the partner club of the Federation, and was immediately loaned to the residents of Brussels.

Since his arrival, he has scored 4 goals and assisted 2 for him in 375 minutes in nine matches.

Japan had a poor start to its 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. After four out of 10 matches in Group B in the Asian region, the “Samurai Blue” was only fourth (out of six countries) with six points.

Therefore, the national coach Hajime Moriyasu’s team has a small margin of error against China (5, 3 points) and Oman (3, 6 points).

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the third-placed teams compete in a double match for a place in the Intercontinental Playoffs.

In addition to Mitoma, Japan also counts on another player from the Jupiler Pro League. Junya Ito of KRC Genk may accompany orphaned on the plane to the Land of the Rising Sun.