How Tsuyoshi Watanabe Can Raise Japan’s Defense for the 2026 World Cup

2026年5月19日

How Tsuyoshi Watanabe Can Raise Japan’s Defensive Floor at the 2026 World Cup

Tsuyoshi Watanabe’s value to Japan is not that he transforms the back line into something completely new. It is that he gives Hajime Moriyasu a center-back who can step in against physical opponents and keep the defensive standard from dropping.

That matters in a World Cup. Over a short tournament, injuries, suspensions, late-game pressure and specific matchups often decide who plays. Watanabe looks less like a headline starter built around on-ball flair, and more like a reliable tournament piece for duels, aerial battles, set-piece defending and protecting leads.

Watanabe was included in Japan’s 2026 World Cup squad announced by the JFA
He started all 30 of his Eredivisie appearances for Feyenoord and played 2,637 league minutes
His league numbers included 152 duels won, 27 interceptions and an 89% pass completion rate
The clearest use case for Japan is as a ready-made center-back for physical defending rather than a defender asked to run the entire buildup

Key point: Watanabe helps Japan most by making sure the center-back basics stay strong when the game turns direct, physical or chaotic.

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Where He Stands Right Now

Watanabe is no longer just a depth name on the edge of the squad.

He started for Japan in the November 14, 2025 friendly against Ghana, and he was also in the starting XI against England on March 31, 2026. That second game matters because Moriyasu used him from the opening whistle against a high-level European opponent, not simply as emergency cover.

That does not automatically make Watanabe first choice over defenders such as Ko Itakura, Takehiro Tomiyasu or Hiroki Ito when everyone is fit. It does show that Japan sees him as a usable option in serious matches, not just a reserve for camp depth.

Why His Stock Rose

The short answer is club-level proof.

Watanabe moved from FC Tokyo to KV Kortrijk, then earned a transfer to KAA Gent in 2023 after playing every minute of the 2022-23 league season and being voted Kortrijk’s player of the year. Feyenoord then signed him in July 2025 on a deal running until mid-2029.

That path matters because it shows steady escalation, not hype. He was tested in Belgium, moved up, and then won a starting role at one of the Netherlands’ biggest clubs.

Feyenoord gave him a stronger stage

At Feyenoord, Watanabe did not spend the season rotating in and out. He started all 30 league matches and logged 2,637 minutes.

The underlying numbers from the Eredivisie profile are the reason Japan can trust him in tournament football:

152 duels won
27 interceptions
20 successful tackles
89% overall pass completion
83% pass completion in the opposition half

Those are not vanity stats. They point to a defender who stays available, competes well on contact and does not give the ball away cheaply once he wins it.

He also adds set-piece value

Watanabe scored twice in league play. One goal stood out more than the others.

In Feyenoord’s 2-1 comeback win over Fortuna Sittard on May 3, he scored the 84th-minute equalizer before Igor Paixao found the winner. For Japan, that is relevant because World Cup matches often turn on one late dead-ball moment or one second phase after a cross.

A center-back who can defend the box at one end and attack it at the other gives a coach more options without changing the shape.

What Japan Should Actually Ask From Him

This is the real question. Watanabe’s role becomes clearer once the job description is narrowed.

1. Win duels and keep the box clean

Japan will not face every opponent on its own terms. Against teams that play into a target striker, attack crosses early or force long clearances, Watanabe’s strongest traits become more valuable.

The moments to watch are simple:

When the center-forward posts up and tries to pin the center-back
When Japan must defend crosses into the near-post or central corridor
When the team needs a first contact winner late in matches
When a clearance has to be followed by an immediate step up from the line

This is where Watanabe can raise the floor. He is not in the team to outshine every other defender stylistically. He is there to stop Japan from losing the basic physical battles that decide knockout matches.

2. Fit into either a back three or a back four

Japan’s defensive structure changes depending on the opponent and the flow of the game. Watanabe has already been used in a three-man line, and that flexibility matters.

He does not need to be the main progression defender to help the team. In fact, his profile makes the most sense when he is paired with teammates who can carry or distribute more aggressively, while he keeps the defensive priorities clean.

That can make him useful in more than one slot:

Right center-back in a back three
Central defender in a more direct defensive stretch
A practical option in a back four when aerial defending becomes the priority

3. Be a matchup card, not necessarily an automatic starter

Watanabe’s biggest tournament value may be situational.

If Tomiyasu and Itakura are fully fit and in rhythm, Japan has other center-backs with broader reputations or more expansive on-ball tools. But tournaments rarely stay tidy for a month.

The conditions that can quickly pull Watanabe into a larger role are easy to imagine:

An opponent with size up front
A match where Japan expects long spells of defending crosses
A suspension or injury in the existing center-back group
A game state where protecting the penalty area matters more than buildup ambition

In that sense, being a strong conditional option is not a weakness. In World Cup football, it is often exactly what a squad needs.

How to Read His Performances

If you are trying to judge Watanabe quickly, do not start with highlight passing clips.

Start with three checkpoints:

Does he hold his ground in first-contact duels?
After a clearance, does Japan’s line move up with him or sink deeper?
Is he useful on both defensive and attacking set pieces?

If those answers are positive, he is probably doing his job.

What to Watch Next

Japan’s May 31, 2026 match against Iceland is the obvious next checkpoint before the World Cup opens on June 11.

The most important questions are these:

Does Watanabe start again?
If he does, who plays next to him?
Is he used mainly as a closer, or from the opening whistle?
Does Moriyasu lean on him more against opponents expected to play direct?

Watanabe is not the defender who makes Japan’s back line look glamorous. He may be the one who makes it hold up when the match becomes ugly, aerial and tense. If Japan ends up facing a bigger, more direct opponent in the knockout rounds, that could be the moment his role stops looking secondary.

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