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Japan’s Takumi Minamino joins World Cup campaign as mentor after ACL injury sidelines him from playing
The AS Monaco forward won't kick a ball at the 2026 World Cup, but Japan's coaching staff believes his presence in the locker room matters just as much.
Takumi Minamino won’t be lacing up his boots at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He’ll be there anyway.
The 31-year-old AS Monaco forward, sidelined since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2025, has joined Japan’s national team in a non-playing mentor capacity.
From the pitch to the sideline, by design
When Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu announced the preliminary 2026 World Cup squad on May 15, Minamino’s name was notably absent. So was Kaoru Mitoma’s.
Moriyasu didn’t just move on. He went to AS Monaco and negotiated directly for Minamino’s release to travel with the team, not as a player, but as something harder to define on a roster sheet.
Confirmation came around May 18-19 that Minamino would serve in this mentorship role. By early June, he was with the squad in Nashville, where Japan began its pre-tournament preparations around June 9-10 ahead of the World Cup being hosted across North America.
Why a mentor matters at a World Cup
Takefusa Kubo was named as a key leader in the squad announcement, but he’s still only in his early twenties. Minamino has been through World Cup cycles before and has competed at the highest levels of European football with the likes of Liverpool and Monaco.
What makes Japan’s approach notable is the intentionality. Minamino was never on the squad list. He was recruited specifically for a non-playing role after being excluded.