Japan penalty taker

Ayase Ueda is our current Japan penalty taker call, with Koki Ogawa next in line if the order changes.

Ayase Ueda should still be treated as one of the strongest World Cup penalty calls in the whole file. The key Japanese-press context is that Hajime Moriyasu moved away from the old volunteer system after the Qatar World Cup shootout loss and said he now wants to choose the order himself. Under that designated setup, Ueda has kept being trusted: he scored Japan's senior in-match penalties against Indonesia at the Asian Cup and Bahrain in World Cup qualifying, on top of the earlier El Salvador penalty and his first-kick conversion in the Tokyo Olympics shootout. Takumi Minamino is not in the 15 May 2026 World Cup squad, so the backup order moves to Koki Ogawa: he is the specialist centre-forward alternative to Ueda, has an active NEC Nijmegen penalty record across 2024-2026, and is the most likely player to combine pitch presence with spot-kick status if Ueda is injured or substituted.

If you searched for Japan penalty taker, the hierarchy at the top is the quickest answer we are willing to publish right now. The evidence trail underneath shows why that order makes the cut.

For World Cup 2026, Ayase Ueda is the current first-choice call for Japan, with Koki Ogawa the closest backup if the tournament order shifts.

Squad check: Ayase Ueda and Koki Ogawa are named in the 26-man World Cup squad.

Coach: Hajime Moriyasu Japan announced their final squad on May 15.

A fresh in-match penalty can move this page quickly, especially if it contradicts the current lead or happens with the full-strength tournament pool on the pitch.

For the more conditional boards, one more clean senior penalty is often enough to sharpen the backup line or flip the order outright.

Spot a hierarchy shift, a squad-specific wrinkle or a stronger team signal? Contact us here. If you are close to the Japan setup and have stronger information, that is exactly the kind of update we want.