How many long balls Japan play, and who plays most.
Updated 28 September 2026, after the last game
Zion Suzuki has played the most long balls for Japan in 2026, 94 in eight appearances, 11.75 a game, ahead of Hiroki Ito with 37 and Ayumu Seko with 23, across all competitions.
Japan play more long balls away from home, 45.4 a game in their last 10 away games against 33.5 in their last 10 at home.
Japan played 51 long balls at home to Sweden on 26 June, their most in a game in 2026, against an average of 37.0 across their nine games, and their fewest was 20 at home to Venezuela on 28 September.
| Player | Apps | Long Balls | Per game | Games with 1+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zion Suzuki | 8 | 94 | 11.75 | 8 |
| Hiroki Ito | 9 | 37 | 4.11 | 9 |
| Ayumu Seko | 8 | 32 | 4.00 | 7 |
| Daichi Kamada | 9 | 25 | 2.78 | 7 |
| T. Hayakawa | 3 | 18 | 6.00 | 3 |
| Takehiro Tomiyasu | 4 | 18 | 4.50 | 3 |
| Ko Itakura | 5 | 17 | 3.40 | 5 |
| Yukinari Sugawara | 8 | 17 | 2.13 | 8 |
| Shogo Taniguchi | 7 | 15 | 2.14 | 7 |
| Keito Nakamura | 10 | 15 | 1.50 | 7 |
| Tsuyoshi Watanabe | 6 | 12 | 2.00 | 5 |
| Junya Ito | 9 | 12 | 1.33 | 5 |
| Ao Tanaka | 8 | 11 | 1.38 | 5 |
| Ritsu Doan | 10 | 9 | 0.90 | 7 |
| Kaishu Sano | 6 | 7 | 1.17 | 4 |
| Leo Kokubo | 1 | 6 | 6.00 | 1 |
| Wataru Endo | 2 | 6 | 3.00 | 1 |
| Takumi Minamino | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 1 |
| Takefusa Kubo | 5 | 4 | 0.80 | 3 |
| Maya Yoshida | 1 | 3 | 3.00 | 1 |
| Junnosuke Suzuki | 6 | 3 | 0.50 | 2 |
| Daizen Maeda | 6 | 3 | 0.50 | 2 |
| Joel Chima Fujita | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Kodai Sano | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Daiki Hashioka | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Ryunosuke Sato | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Kuryu Matsuki | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Shunsuke Saito | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Kaoru Mitoma | 2 | 1 | 0.50 | 1 |
| Shuto Machino | 3 | 1 | 0.33 | 1 |
| Keisuke Goto | 5 | 1 | 0.20 | 1 |
| Ayase Ueda | 10 | 1 | 0.10 | 1 |
| Satoshi Tanaka | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Kaina Tanimura | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Shuto Nakano | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Koki Kumasaka | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Yuto Nagatomo | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Yuki Soma | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Yuito Suzuki | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Kento Shiogai | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Koki Ogawa | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Date | Opponent | Competition | Score | Japan | Opponent | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 2026 | Venezuela (H) | Friendly International | 2-1 | 20 | 22 | 42 |
| 24 Sep 2026 | Uruguay (H) | Friendly International | 3-1 | 22 | 33 | 55 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | Brazil (A) | World Cup | 2-1 | 45 | 45 | 90 |
| 26 Jun 2026 | Sweden (H) | World Cup | 1-1 | 51 | 50 | 101 |
| 21 Jun 2026 | Tunisia (A) | World Cup | 0-4 | 32 | 56 | 88 |
| 14 Jun 2026 | Netherlands (A) | World Cup | 2-2 | 37 | 36 | 73 |
| 31 May 2026 | Iceland (H) | Friendly International | 1-0 | 36 | 66 | 102 |
| 31 Mar 2026 | England (A) | Friendly International | 0-1 | 45 | 28 | 73 |
| 28 Mar 2026 | Scotland (A) | Friendly International | 0-1 | 45 | 48 | 93 |
| 18 Nov 2025 | Bolivia (H) | Friendly International | 3-0 | 47 | 51 | 98 |
| Line | Games over | Hit rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan long balls | Over 25.5 | 8 of 10 | 80% |
| Japan long balls | Over 30.5 | 8 of 10 | 80% |
| Japan long balls | Over 35.5 | 7 of 10 | 70% |
| Japan long balls | Over 40.5 | 5 of 10 | 50% |
| Japan long balls | Over 45.5 | 2 of 10 | 20% |
| Opponent long balls | Over 25.5 | 9 of 10 | 90% |
| Opponent long balls | Over 30.5 | 8 of 10 | 80% |
| Opponent long balls | Over 35.5 | 7 of 10 | 70% |
| Opponent long balls | Over 40.5 | 6 of 10 | 60% |
| Opponent long balls | Over 45.5 | 5 of 10 | 50% |
| Total long balls | Over 60.5 | 8 of 10 | 80% |
| Total long balls | Over 70.5 | 8 of 10 | 80% |
| Total long balls | Over 80.5 | 6 of 10 | 60% |
| Total long balls | Over 90.5 | 4 of 10 | 40% |
| Total long balls | Over 100.5 | 2 of 10 | 20% |