What Will Daizen Maeda Be Asked to Do for Japan at the 2026 World Cup? Explaining His Improved Scoring and Defensive Value Up Front

2026年5月19日

What Will Daizen Maeda Be Asked to Do for Japan at the 2026 World Cup?

Daizen Maeda’s role for Japan is no longer just about running hard and pressing defenders. He now looks like a two-way forward Japan can trust to start on the left or through the middle, disrupt build-up high up the pitch, and still finish the few clear chances that usually decide World Cup matches.

That matters more now than it did in Qatar. On May 15, 2026, the Japan Football Association named Maeda in its 26-man World Cup squad after a season in which he was selected as the SPFL Premiership Player of the Season and the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year. The case for him is not based on energy alone anymore. It is based on production.

Maeda was included in Japan’s official 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup.
He scored 34 goals in all competitions for Celtic in 2024-25, with 16 league goals and 10 league assists.
He has already shown tournament value for Japan, starting against Spain and Croatia at the 2022 World Cup and scoring against Croatia.
His biggest tactical value is flexibility: he can play as a left-sided presser or as the first defender at center forward.

ここがポイント: Maeda’s speed matters because he turns it into two things Japan needs against stronger teams: pressure on the ball and direct goals.

TOC

Why Maeda made the squad

The simplest answer is that he forced his way in with output.

Celtic did not just get an industrious runner this season. They got a forward who finished attacks and created them. The SPFL’s official player-of-the-season announcement credited him with 34 goals in all competitions, plus 16 league goals and 10 assists in 33 league appearances. That last number matters. It shows he was not living on scraps or rebounds alone. He was affecting the final pass too.

The Scottish Football Writers’ Association made a similar point from a different angle. Its award note described Maeda as a constant problem for defenses whether he played wide or as a striker. That versatility translates directly to tournament football, where one squad player often has to solve two or three different game states.

The growth is not only statistical

Maeda’s development shows up in the kind of jobs he can handle.

From the left, he can chase full-backs and center-backs into rushed passes.
As a striker, he can steer possession one way and trigger the rest of Japan’s press.
In transition, he attacks space early instead of waiting for the move to settle.
Around the box, he is now a more credible finisher than he was earlier in his career.

That combination is why he is useful in World Cup matches. Japan will not dominate every opponent. A forward who can help win the ball and then immediately threaten the space behind the back line has outsized value.

Where he fits best for Japan

Maeda’s listed position matters less than the match script.

If Japan expect to spend long stretches without the ball, he becomes a specialist. If Japan expect more territory, he becomes a balancing piece who keeps the front line honest and aggressive.

As a left-sided starter

On the left, Maeda gives Japan a different profile from a pure dribbler or creator.

He is most dangerous when the opponent is trying to reset. A square pass across the back line, a retreating touch to the goalkeeper, or a center-back receiving on the wrong foot can all become pressing cues. That is where Maeda changes the rhythm of a game. He can turn a calm possession phase into a hurried clearance.

For Japan, that has two direct benefits.

It shortens the field after a regain.
It protects the back line by making the opponent play earlier than planned.

Against stronger teams, that can be more valuable than one extra technical touch on the wing.

As the No. 9

Through the middle, Maeda gives Japan a first line of defense with real speed behind it.

This is not glamorous work, but it is often the work that shapes knockout football. A striker who closes center-backs quickly can force longer passes, make midfield traps easier to set, and reduce the number of clean entries the opponent finds into central areas.

Maeda has already done this for Japan on the biggest stage. He started both the Spain and Croatia matches at the 2022 World Cup. In the Croatia round-of-16 match, he also scored Japan’s opener.

That is why his candidacy as a center forward remains serious even if he is not the most classic No. 9 in the squad. He does not need high volume to matter. He can influence the match before the shot count ever climbs.

Why his 2022 World Cup experience still matters

Maeda is not heading into this tournament as an untested runner from club football. He has already been trusted in matches where Japan had to survive, press, and take rare chances.

The Spain match showed the defensive use case

Japan beat Spain 2-1 on December 1, 2022, but the match was never about long, comfortable possession. Maeda started because Japan needed legs, pressure, and a forward willing to do difficult defensive work high up the pitch.

That remains one of the strongest arguments for him in 2026. When Japan face opponents that want to control the ball, Maeda can make their possession less clean even without touching the ball much himself.

The Croatia match showed the scoring use case

On December 5, 2022, Maeda scored in the 43rd minute against Croatia in the round of 16. Japan eventually went out on penalties, but the goal still matters in evaluating his World Cup role.

It proved he is not only a pressing forward. He can arrive in the decisive zone and finish under knockout pressure.

That distinction is important. Teams tolerate a defensive forward. They rely on a defensive forward who can also score.

What Japan will really be buying if they start him

Maeda is not Japan’s main playmaker. He is not the player who slows the game down and dictates the next five passes.

What he offers is sharper and more specific.

He raises the floor of Japan’s front line

Even when Japan are pinned back, Maeda gives them a repeatable way to compete.

He can turn clearances into running races.
He can stop opponents from building too comfortably through their center-backs.
He can make one long sprint change the emotional direction of a match.

That reliability is one reason coaches trust him.

He now carries more end product than before

Earlier in his career, Maeda’s finishing was often the question attached to his speed. That question is weaker now.

A season with 34 goals in all competitions changes how defenders, coaches, and teammates read him. They cannot treat him as a runner to contain and ignore. They have to respect the shot at the end of the action.

That is the shift that may define his 2026 tournament. Japan are not asking him only to disturb opponents. They are asking him to punish them too.

The main watchpoints in June and July 2026

Maeda’s role will become clearer once Japan’s games begin, but a few clues matter most.

Whether Hajime Moriyasu starts him on the left or as the central striker.
Whether Japan use him from kickoff against possession-heavy opponents.
Whether his pressing creates recoveries high enough to cut out long attacking moves.
Whether he turns low-volume chances into goals, as he did against Croatia in 2022.
Whether he changes games off the bench by forcing the opposing back line deeper.

Japan do not need Maeda to be their most elegant attacker. They need him to be a functional one at the highest level. If his Celtic scoring surge holds up in World Cup matches, he becomes more than a useful squad piece. He becomes one of the players who can tilt a tight game without needing many touches.

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