Why isn’t Takefusa Kubo playing for Japan against Tunisia at the 2026 World Cup?

Just one match into the 2026 World Cup, Japan are already making an injury change in the lineup as Takefusa Kubo isn’t playing against Tunisia.

The reason behind Kubo not playing in this match is a knee injury he sustained in Japan’s draw against the Netherlands. It was in an action that left him down in the 75th minute of action, being unable to continue as he was replaced last Sunday.

Kubo’s injury left Japan very worried as the issues have been piling up lately, with the team missing some huge names for them like Takumi Minamino or Kaoru Mitoma before the competition. This was also the case with team captain Wataru Endo, who had to be replaced from the final list.

Kubo’s future

While there were some concerns around Kubo’s future in the competition, Japan seem confident there are going to welcome the talented player back soon. Coming back against Sweden in the third match isn’t out of the question yet.

The fixture does not help Japan very much as they are one of the teams that had to travel between countries during the groups round. After presenting themselves in Dallas, Japan now had to travel to Mexico for the Tunisia match before returning to their first city.

This made it easier to see that Kubo is not going to even be on the bench because he didn’t even travel with the team. Instead, the left-footed player stayed in the team’s facilities in Nashville recovering properly to gain his best form.

Hajime Moriyasu’s view on the Tunisia match

This was a hit for the team as they rely on Kubo’s creativity to produce goal chances. For manager Hajime Moriyasu, this Tunisia represents a threat to them even after they lost 5-1 against Sweden. That made their Federation fire Sabri Lamouchi to hire Herve Renard, which could be a factor for Japan.

Moriyasu said: “Tunisia had a change of manager and will come out fighting with extremely high motivation, desperate to redeem the defeat from the first game in order to progress from the group stage. We must not be defensive against such a mentality and must be prepared to make the effort to win the match.”