Dallas: Takefusa Kubo, the Japanese national team forward currently playing for Real Sociedad in La Liga, will not travel with the national team to Dallas, USA, and will be unavailable for the final group stage match of the 2026 World Cup against Sweden on June 26th due to an ongoing knee injury.
According to Thai News Agency, the 25-year-old Japanese midfielder sustained an injury in Japan's opening group stage match, a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands. He then missed the next game, a 4-0 win against Tunisia, due to injury problems, and will also miss the game against Sweden for the same reason.
The Japanese national team decided to rest Kubo for two consecutive games: the final group stage match and the knockout round of 32, if Japan qualifies for the next round. The decision aims to help him recover from his injury, be 100 percent fit, and return to the field fully in the Round of 16, if the team makes it through.