Japan Names Squad for VNL Finals, to Face China in Quarterfinal
Japan announces its VNL Finals roster, keeping most of its unbeaten Preliminary Round squad ahead of a quarterfinal against host China.
The Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) announced on Tuesday, July 28, the men's national team roster for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals round.
Japan enters its first major tournament of 2026 after finishing the Preliminary Round with a perfect 12-0 record, an all-time first for the team, securing first place overall. Japan will face host nation China in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, July 29, with the match set to begin at 20:30 local time.
Japan kept nearly the same roster used in the Preliminary Round for the quarterfinal. Compared to the final Preliminary Round match against Argentina, Keigo Nishimoto has been added to the active roster, moving from reserve status, while Akihiro Yamauchi has been moved to reserve.
The squad includes setters Hideomi Fukatsu and Genki Eiro, opposites Yuji Nishida and Kento Miyaura, outside hitters Tatsunori Otsuka, Ran Takahashi, Yuki Ishikawa, Yuto Kai, and Shoma Tomita, middle blockers Taishi Onodera, Keigo Nishimoto, and Evandro Danilalari, and liberos Tomohiro Ogawa and Tomohiro Yamamoto. Akihiro Yamauchi is listed as reserve.
