【Player Profile #36】Watanabe Go | The Late-Blooming CB Who Went Through Chuo University and Claimed His World Cup Spot at Feyenoord as Machida's Injury Replacement

Tsuyoshi Watanabe, 29. A 186 cm centre-back who came through FC Tokyo U-15 Musashi → FC Tokyo U-18 → Chuo University → FC Tokyo before moving to Belgian side KV Kortrijk at the end of 2021. After being named Club Player of the Year at KAA Gent, he completed a permanent transfer to Feyenoord in July 2025 for a fee of €9 million (approximately ¥1.5 billion). He made a strong case for a national team place with a starting appearance against England on 31 March, and on 15 May was included in the 26-man squad as a replacement for the injured Hiroki Machida — a late-blooming, straight-talking professional. With WC 2026 now just a month away, we take stock of the expectations he carries and the challenges he must overcome.

---

menu_book Basic Profile

_※ No freely available individual portrait images from Wikimedia Commons or similar sources have been confirmed at this time; a personal photo will be added as soon as one becomes available._

---

arrow_forward Getting to Know His Roots

Saitama Prefecture is renowned as one of Japan's foremost football kingdoms, home to Urawa Red Diamonds and Omiya Ardija. At youth level, powerhouses such as Urawa Youth, Omiya Youth, Bunan High School, and Shochi Fukaya compete fiercely with one another, and the standard of the Kanto League and the Prince Takamado Trophy Premier League EAST is a cut above the rest of the country.

Although born in Saitama, Watanabe was developed in the academies of neighbouring FC Tokyo (U-15 Musashi and U-18), and when promotion to the first team did not materialise he went on to Chuo University. Over four years at university he raised his level once more, and in 2019 he "returned" to FC Tokyo — a late-blooming career path if ever there was one. Rather than going straight from a top J.League academy to the professional ranks, he climbed the ladder one rung at a time: academy → university → J.League pro → Europe. His exploits at the World Cup finals will serve as an inspiration to players across the country who aim to turn professional via the university route.

---

calendar_month Career Timeline by Age

---

local_fire_department 2025/26 Season — Proving He Is a "Reading CB" at Feyenoord

On 23 July 2025, Watanabe moved to Eredivisie giants Feyenoord, bringing with him the reputation he had built over two years at Gent. He signed a four-year contract for a fee of approximately €9 million (around ¥1.5 billion) — an extraordinary sum for a Japanese defender — becoming the club's fourth Japanese player ever, with the number 4 shirt traditionally worn by defenders. As early as 12 August he scored 2 goals in the CL qualifying play-off against Fenerbahçe, immediately proving his ability to adapt in Europe.

In the league he has been a cornerstone of the side alongside Koji Ueda, and his official appearances in the 2025/26 season have already reached 40. His aerial dominance and razor-sharp anticipation — reading opponents' movements before they happen and clearing the danger — have provided solid defensive cover in the centre and on the left of Feyenoord's back three.

A career curve that keeps climbing — that is Tsuyoshi Watanabe. Even into his late twenties he has continued to grow his appearance tally and goal involvement year on year, and at 29 he has finally arrived at a position where he is a leading figure of his generation.

---

sports_soccer International Career — A World Cup Ticket Six Years in the Making

Watanabe made his senior debut on 14 December 2019 in the EAFF E-1 Championship against Hong Kong (a 5-0 victory). At the time he was called up as "a young CB from FC Tokyo," but a place at a major tournament continued to elude him, and he missed out on the final squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Even under Moriyasu, he spent a long time as a fringe player, blocked by a CB corps of Kou Itakura, Ko Itakura, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Shogo Taniguchi.

The turning point came on 31 March 2026 at Wembley Stadium against England. Starting as one of the centre-backs, he kept Bellingham's absence-depleted England attack at bay, playing a central role in a 1-0 victory. The verdict from the local media was: "At last, a defender in the Japan squad who meets the European CB standard." When Hiroki Machida (RB Salzburg) withdrew through injury on 9 May, Watanabe emerged as the prime candidate to cover the left of the back three and squeezed into the 26-man squad on 15 May.

---

star Tsuyoshi Watanabe in a Nutshell — "Physicality" and "Coaching" Combined

There are two key words that are essential to understanding Watanabe.

The significance of combining both is clear: one player uniting physical strength with mental composure. Other candidates for the left stopper position in the back three include Hiroki Ito and Junnosuke Suzuki, but Watanabe differentiates himself through "experience and coaching ability."

---

favorite The Expectations He Carries at WC 2026 — The Key to Japan Breaking Out of Group F

Japan are in Group F alongside the Netherlands, Sweden, and Tunisia. What is required of Watanabe is to function as a fourth or fifth centre-back option in the back three, deployed as a game-changing joker.

---

live_tv Social Media & Media Presence

Watanabe's communication style is understated and straightforward. On Instagram at @tsuyoshi_watanabe5 open_in_new he quietly posts match photos alongside candid shots with his family and beloved dog. An official X (formerly Twitter) account has not been confirmed, and his social media exposure is decidedly limited.

The distinguishing feature of his media appearances is hands-on self-analysis. As he stated in a Soccer Magazine Web interview — "I don't want defending to be anyone else's responsibility. I want to organise and control the defence myself" — he is the type who articulates what he personally needs to do right now in concrete terms rather than speaking in abstractions. In long-form interviews with Soccer King, Gekisaka, and similar outlets, he reflects calmly on "the perseverance he developed during his Chuo University days" and "the European CB standard he grasped across two Belgian clubs," with a craftsman's mentality that values consistency over flash running through everything he says.

---

info The Challenge to Overcome — "Experience as the Left Stopper in a Back Three"

Watanabe's greatest challenge is his international experience as the left stopper in a back three. Both at Feyenoord and with the national team, his primary role has been in the centre or on the right of the back three, and situations in which he has had to contain a wide attacker directly as a left stopper have been limited.

The key will be whether he can sharpen his match sharpness during the Kirin Challenge Cup match against Iceland on 31 May and the pre-tournament training camp in June, rotating the left back-three position alongside Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich) and Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen). Manager Moriyasu has a vision of rotating three options depending on the situation — "Watanabe for experience, Suzuki for explosive pace, and Ito for his left foot" — and the question is how close Watanabe can get to being the "first choice" among them. At 29 and at his first World Cup finals, his moment starts here.

---