Tuesday, November 12, 2024 - 06:39:08 PM

The Japan national team of football (Japanese: SatsukaRi Ben Dai Biao , Hepburn: Sakka Nihon Daihyo) is known as"the Samurai Blue (samuraiburu, Samurai Buru) is the representative team of Japan in international football for males. It is governed by the Japan Football Association (JFA) the governing body of the game in Japan.

Japan wasn't a major football power until the middle in the 1980s, and had an amateur and small team. In the 1990s, as Japanese football was professionally regulated, Japan has emerged as one of the top teams in Asia They have been selected for the past seven FIFA World Cups with knockout stage appearances in 2002 2010, and 2018 and also won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times in 1992, 2000, 2004, and in 2011. They also placed third in the FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Japan is the only AFC member of the AFC aside from Australia as well as Saudi Arabia to have reached the final of an elite FIFA men's event.

The growth of Japan over a brief time has been an example and an inspiration of how to grow football. Their main continental rivals include South Korea, North Korea, China and, most recently, Australia; they also have developed rivalries with Iran as well as Saudi Arabia.

Japan is the very first nation outside of the Americas to be a part of the Copa America, having been invited in the 1999, 2011 2015, 2019 and 1999 editions of the competition, however, they were only able to play in the events of 1999 and 2019.

1. History

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1.1. Pre-war era (1910s–1930s)

The first international match Japan played was in the Far Eastern Championship Games in Tokyo in which it had a group of Tokyo Higher Normal School. Tokyo Higher Normal School. While Japan performed well in the fields of baseball, swimming in track and field as well, the football team fell in crushing defeats against China, the Republic of China and the Philippines. However, football was popularized in Japanese schools during the 1920s. In the 1920s, the Japan Football Association was formed in 1921. Japan was a part of FIFA in May 1929.

The first "true" National team (as instead of an unofficial university team that was chosen to represent the nation) was formed at in 1930 at the Far Eastern Championship Games, and also drew with China to claim the title of champion. Shigeyoshi Suzuki was the coach of Japan's national squad to their first Olympic appearance in 1936's Summer Olympics held in Berlin. Japan had a chance to participate in an entry into the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, but pulled out prior to the scheduled qualification match with The Dutch East Indies.

Following the time that World War II began in the midst of war, Japan did not play in international competitions, with the exception for a few matches with Manchuria as well as other colonial countries. The last prewar game Japan played to determine Elo rating was an friendly game against the Philippines in June 1940.

When Korea is subordinate to Japanese rule, many Koreans took part in international competitions for Japan like Kim Yong Sik (1936-40) Kim Sung-gan (1940) and Lee Yoo-hyung (1940).

1.2. Post-war Era (1950s–1980s)

The first postwar Japan appearance was its 1950 Asian Games in India. Japan rejoined FIFA in 1950 and took part in qualifying matches in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but was unable to secure an AFC qualifying spot against South Korea after two matches and a fierce rivalry began. Japan has also joined in the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.

Dettmar Cramer was appointed to Cramer's Japan national team in 1960 as a coach and helped guide the team to victory in the round of eight in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Japan's first big success in international football took place at the year 1968's Summer Olympics at Mexico City, where the team was awarded an Olympic bronze. Even though this win brought the sport more recognition in Japan however, the absence of an organized domestic league slowed its growth and Japan was not able to qualify for to play in the FIFA World Cup until 30 years after. However, Japan had come close to being able to participate in at the time of 1986's FIFA World Cup, but was defeated by South Korea in the deciding match.

Japan was the first nation to participate at Japan's first appearance at the Asian Cup in 1988, when they were eliminated from the group stage after the draw with Iran and defeats against South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The 1980s were a time of tangible steps to improve the professionalism of the game in Japan. JFA introduced an exclusive Licensed player system back in the year 1986 that allowed the most professional players to participate in the national semi-professional league. Action committees were formed between 1988 and 1989 in order to debate the possibility of establishing a fully professional football league within Japan.

1.3. 1990s: Rise

In 1991 those who owned the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to end the league and revive it into the official J.League in part to increase the profile of the sport as well as improve the national team's program. In the next calendar year Japan played host to their first Asian Cup and won their first trophy by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final. J.League was officially launched in 1993. J.League was officially established in 1993.

However, in its initial attempt to qualify using pros, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 World Cup after drawing with Iraq in the final game of the qualification round. called by fans"the "Agony of Doha". The next tournament Japan played in was to defend their title as a continental champion during the 1996 Asian Cup. Japan won all of their games during the group stage, but they lost in the quarter-finals following a 2-0 defeat to Kuwait.

The first time Japan made a World Cup appearance was in 1998, when Japan had to forfeit all their matches. The two opening games were with a 1-0 win over Argentina and Croatia while the tournament concluded with a loss of 2-1 to Jamaica. Japan performed well throughout the three games however, and each of the three defeats being only one goal in the distance.

1.4. 2000s

At the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, Japan was able to defend their title after beating Saudi Arabia in the final and becoming Asian champions for the second time.

A year after that, Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a draw of 2-2 with Belgium in their first match The Japanese team made it into the second round thanks to the win of 1-0 against Russia as well as a convincing 2-0 win against Tunisia. But, they were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 following a 1-0 loss to the eventual third-place finalist Turkey.

The 2004 AFC Asian Cup hosted by China The Japanese held on to the title, winning their group following two wins against Thailand and Oman after which they beat Jordan in the final. They also beat Bahrain. They defeated China at the end of their match game 3-1.

On the 8th of June, the year 2005 Japan got its spot in at the 2006 World Cup in Germany for the third time in a row. It was Japan's third time in a row to qualify for the World Cup, by beating North Korea 2-0 on neutral ground. The result was that Japan was unable to make it into the 16th round, losing to Australia 3-3 while losing to Australia 1-3, drawing Croatia 1-1 and losing to Brazil with a score of 1-4.

It was 2007 and the AFC Asian Cup saw Japan fail to defend their title. While they easily won all of the teams in group Vietnam as well as two Arab opponents, Qatar and the UAE Qatar and the UAE, the Japanese were exhausted during their match against Australia in which Japan was only able to win via an extra shootout. Japan was defeated by Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals after which they lost the third place game with South Korea.

 

1.5. 2010s

The 2010. World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the Asian Qualifiers Japan made history as the very first nation outside of hosts South Africa to qualify after beating Uzbekistan by a score of 1-0 away. Japan was a part of Group E with other teams like the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon. Japan started off with winning 1-0 against Cameroon but then fell to the Netherlands 1-1. In the next round, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3-1 in order to make it into the next round, where they will play Paraguay. In the 16th round, Japan were eliminated from the tournament due to penalties following an 0-0 draw with Paraguay.

Following the World Cup, head coach Takeshi Okada resigned. His replacement was the former Juventus coach and Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni. In his initial games, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (2-1) and Paraguay (1-0) and Paraguay (1-0), as also a 1-0 win against Argentina.

2011 2011, Japan participated in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On the 29th of January they defeated Australia 1-1 in the final following extra time and won the fourth time they have won an Asian Cup triumph and allowing them to be selected for 2013's FIFA Confederations Cup.

Japan began their journey towards their 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They suffered just two defeats to Uzbekistan and Jordan while drawing with Australia. Then, on the 12th of Oct, Japan earned a historic 1-1 win against France. In a 1-1 tie against Australia they were selected to participate in 2014's World Cup, becoming the first nation outside of Brazil to be selected.

Japan began the 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3-1 loss to Brazil. They were eliminated from the tournament following a loss 3-4 to Italy 3-4. They also lost their final game 1-1 against Mexico and ended up with a fourth place finish on the Group A. The following month, in the EAFF East Asian Cup, they began with a draw in 3-3 to China. They then defeated Australia 3-1 and defeated South Korea 2-1 in the third and final match of 2013. EAFF East Asian Cup to win the trophy.

Japan was a part of Group C of the 2014 World Cup alongside the Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia. Japan lost their first game to Ivory Coast 2-1 after initially leading, but they conceded two goals within a two-minute time. They then lost their second match against Greece at 0-0. In order to be eligible for the second round, they required a victory over Colombia in addition to Greece to beat Ivory Coast. Greece defeated Ivory Coast 2-1, but Colombia beat them 4-1 to eliminate Japan out of Japan's World Cup. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach. In July 2014 the the former Mexico as well as Espanyol director Javier Aguirre took over and Japan fell 2-0 to Uruguay at the start of the game that he played in.

Japan won the opening game in the 2014 AFC Asian Cup in Group D, beating Asian Cup debutantes Palestine 4-0 and scored goals from Yasuhito Endo Shinji Okazaki Keisuke Honda with a penalty, as well as Maya Yoshida. Okazaki was named the man for the game. They were then up against Iraq as well as Jordan in their subsequent group match that they beat 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. They advanced to the knockout phase in the Group D winners with nine points in Group D, with seven goals scored and they did not concede any goals. In the quarter-finals Japan was defeated by their opponents in the United Arab Emirates in a penalty shootout following an 1-1 draw. Honda as well as Shinji Kagawa did not score penalties. Japan's exit was their worst performance at the tournament in 19 years.

Following the Asian Cup, Aguirre was fired following accusations of corruption during his previous stint. His replacement was Vahid Halilhodzic on March 15, 2015. Japan began on a rough start to qualifying, losing to the UAE in a 1-2 home loss. Then, they increased their pace in their qualifier matches in the form of Iraq, Australia, and Thailand with 5 wins and two draw. On the 31st of August , 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2-0 at home, thereby qualifying for their 2017 FIFA World Cup in Russia which was their sixth consecutive World Cup. But Japan Football Association Japan Football Association decided to dismiss Halilhodzic on April 9th, 2018, just ten days ahead of the World Cup finals, citing the reasons for a break in the relationship between coach and player, as well as the poor performance of recent friendly matches and choose as the technical director Japanese head coach Akira Nishino who was the manager of the Japanese Under-23 team during the 1996 Olympics and was appointed his new coach.

Japan achieved a record-breaking victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup by defeating Colombia 1-1, their first win by an AFC side against CONMEBOL squad in a tournament that was officially sanctioned in addition to Japan's first win in the FIFA World Cup finals in UEFA nations. The second game was a draw with Senegal and one goal was that was scored by Takashi Inui, and the other scored by Keisuke Honda. Japan lost their final group game of the group H against Poland 1-1, leaving Japan and Senegal in second place with a similar performance, however, since Japan received two less white cards. Japan moved to knockout stage of their Fair Play Points tiebreaker, the first team to achieve this. The match against Poland provoked controversy, because Japan became aware of their advantages over Senegal after ten minutes and they decided to play a prudent game. They played the ball to one another , and putting it inside their own box. They aimed to avoid bookings, and did not attempt to take seriously shot on goal even though they lost 1-0, with some fans cheering for the players. The game received comparisons against The 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijon that was played in the same way. match was played. Japan had the distinction of being the first AFC team to advance to knockout phase. The Round 16 match match against Belgium, Japan took a unexpected 2-0 lead thanks to an equalizer within the 47th minute of Genki Haraguchi, and another in the 52nd minute scored by Takashi Inui. However, they conceded three goals afterward which included the winning goal by Nacer Chadli, who scored on the counter-attack during the final minute of the match in the 94th. It was the third time for Japan reaching the final 16 in a row, which was their highest score in the World Cup. The loss to eventual third-place runners-up Belgium it was the first occasion that a nation lost a knockout match during the World Cup after taking a two-goal lead since England fell in extra-time to West Germany 2-3 in extra-time in the quarterfinals in the tournament of 1970. The unfortunate outcome was the result of the inexperience of the Nipponese players, who were incredibly offensive , and they did not move back enough defensively once the lead of two goals was accumulated (unlike France, eventual champion in the semifinals, where they played a low block in the semifinals against the Belgians and had success) which left a lot of space for the Belgians and taking advantage of their athletic and physical ability to win the game. The Japanese's outstanding performance was appreciated by the media, journalists and pundits for their determination which was evident in the victory of Japan over Colombia and a draw against Senegal and a ferocious counter-attack against the heavyweight Belgium.

Japan took part during this year's AFC Asian Cup and had an almost flawless event. The team was able to easily top group F after beating Turkmenistan with a score of 3-2, Oman 1-0 and Uzbekistan 1-1. However, the team was criticised for its defensive style (as offensive tactics led to a sour encounter with Belgium in World Cup 2018). World Cup 2018), in the sense that Japan was able to win the group with just one goal margin victories in all three matches and two knockout phase matches . Japan only defeated the other stronghold Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 as well as Dark Horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals , both by a 1-0 margin. After beating Iran 3-1 to advance to in the last four, Japan's dream to achieve their fifth Asian Cup in two decades was shattered when the team suffered the loss of 1-3 to Qatar and Qatar, who took home this year's Asian Cup for the first time.

Japan was invited to the 2019, Copa America, their second appearance at the tournament and also brought a team of youngsters to the event. They were part of Group C , along with Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. They lost their first match by a score of 0-4 to Chile. Japan was able to bounce back with a strong performance and was able to draw against the giants of football Uruguay with a score of 2-2. (Uruguay) were judged to have be prevented by VAR. Japan required a win over Ecuador to be able to progress to the knockout stage, but they lost 1-1 and missed out due to poor goal difference to Paraguay. Following the game, Japan play a friendly match against the Paraguayans winning by 2-0 at home.

 

1.6. 2020s

Japan was selected for 2020's FIFA World Cup, and were placed alongside Germany, Costa Rica and Spain in Group E.

Following the announcement that China was eliminated as the host for the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, it was revealed that Japan was to host the tournament; Japan won the championship by winning this table by winning two times and a draw.

2. Team image

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2.1. Nicknames

The national team of Japan is known as"the Samurai Blue (samuraiburu, Samurai Buru) by the JFA. The team is also named after the last name given to the coach. For instance under Takeshi Okada the team was named Okada Japan (Gang Tian Ziyapan, Okada Japan),[46] or in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, team was referred to by the departing coach's (Akira Nishino), as "Nishino Japan" (Xi Ye ziyapan, Nishino Japan).

2.2. Kits

The design of the national team's kit has undergone several changes over the years. In the beginning of the 1980s, the uniform was blue with white trim. The kits worn during 1992's Asian Cup consisted of white stripes (stylized to create an wing) and red diamonds. In the 1996 Asian Cup and in the 1998 World Cup, the national team's kit was blue with white and red fire designs printed on sleeves and were created in collaboration with JFA (with their sponsors rotating every season with Asics, Puma, and Adidas). The 1996 design was reprinted in a specific kit that was used against Syria on June 7, 2017.

Japan has a preference for white and blue, rather than white and red because of the belief that it is a myth. Japan first began using blue shirts at 1930's Far Eastern Championship Games, which was the first time a team from Tokyo Imperial University (whose color is light blue) played for Japan sporting light blue shirts. The team won later, in a 3-2 win against Sweden in the opening game of their first major international contest which was the 1936 Summer Olympics. In the time that Japan was under the direction of Kenzo Yokyama (1988-1992) the uniforms were white and red in keeping with the colors of the national flag. Following the disappointments of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and 1992 Summer Olympics qualifications, the red shirt was discarded.

In 2013, during the Confederations Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Japan temporarily changed the color of the numbers from white to gold.

Japan's kit is supplied from German company Adidas which is the team's sole kit provider in April, 1999. Prior to this, Asics and Puma had been the team's official clothing partner along with Adidas.

On the 3rd of June in 2021 Japan launched the 100th Anniversary special jersey for a friendly match with Jamaica however, the game was postponed and replaced by an U-24 team. The same kit was used for the team of U-24 in a match against the U-24 team in Ghana on the 5th of June in 2021.

2.3. Kit suppliers

Kit provider Period Ref
None 1936–1978  
 Asics 1979  
 Puma 1980–1985  
 Adidas 1986  
 Asics 1987–1988  
 Adidas 1989–1992  
 Asics 1993–1998  
 Adidas 1999–present  

2.4. Crest

The crest, or emblem, for the nation's team was adopted at the end of 2017, as part of wider redesign through the Japan Football Association. The crest depicts the Yatagarasu, the crow with three legs taken from Japanese mythology, which symbolizes the sun. The sun is held by the ball in a solid red which resembles the sun of the flag. The word "JFA" (for JFA, which stands for the Japan Football Association) is located on the bottom of the crow. Red stripes are located in the middle of the shield in front of the crow. The shield is adorned with gold-colored trim that is metallic and a more pronounced black outline. The name of the nation that is represented on the National Team "Japan" can also be written inside this black line.

The previous crest , which was in use from 1996 had a shield featuring more intricate shapes. The ball held by Yatagarasu was white with highlights. Its text "Japan" is missing, and "JFA" appears in an alternative font.

Prior to the year 1988 Japan had the flag of its nationality with the red outline (and that had JFA printed in black in one of its lower corners) on the shirt.

The Yatagarasu first appeared on Japan shirt in the year 1988. It was on a yellow circular that had a blue border and "JAPAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION" inscribed around the circle. Then, in 1991 the crest transformed to be a white shield, with the red vertical stripe at the middle with the crow in it, as well as "JFA" is written with the green Gothic typeface. This design was used from 1991 until 1996.

2.5. Home stadium

Japan hosts its home matches at several stadiums in rotation across the country, with a particular focus on Saitama Stadium 2002. Saitama Stadium 2002.

2.6. Rivalries

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2.6.1. South Korea

Japan retains a fierce soccer rivalry South Korea. The football rivalry has been long-running and is frequently thought of as an extension of a larger historical rivalry between the two nations. Japan have played South Korea 80 times, surpassing the record of 15 , 23 draws and 42 loss. Japan are averaging 73 goals while conceding the equivalent of 153. Both nations have become unbeatable in the Asian Cup and World Cup records. They are one of the most prosperous Asian countries. They also held in 2002 the FIFA World Cup in a joint bid.

2.6.2. Australia

Japan started to form an intense rivalry with the other Asian superpower Australia just after the two countries was admitted to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This rivalry is thought to be one of the biggest Asian rivalries in football. The rivalry is relatively recent affair, and was born out of several intense matches that the two sides played after Australia became a member of the AFC in the year 2006. The rivalry was first sparked during the 2006 World Cup where the two nations were joined together and continued to grow with both countries regularly playing during different AFC competitionslike in 2007's AFC Asian Cup and 2011, the AFC Asian Cup Final, and The 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. Additionally, Australia and Japan also have World Cup and continental records which are almost unmatched in Asia as well as the fact that football was not the most popular sport in both countries in recent years, but they both have an unbeatable record of being the only three countries of the AFC that have made it to the final of any major FIFA competition, with the third one being Saudi Arabia, both in the long-gone FIFA Confederations Cup, albeit Australia reached the final while it was still part of the OFC.

 

2.6.3. China

Japan also has a long-running rivalry with China in part because of the tensions that existed between China and Japan in the past as well as in the current.

 

2.7. Supporters

Japanese fans of the national team are well-known for chanting "Nippon Ole" (Nippon is the Japanese word meaning Japan) during home matches.

2.8. Sponsorship

Japan is among the countries with the highest incomes from sponsorship for a national team. The sponsorship income for Japan in 2006 was more than 16.5 millions pounds.

Principal sponsors include Adidas, Kirin, Saison Card International, FamilyMart, JAL, MS&AD Insurance Group, Asahi Shinbun, Mizuho Financial, Daito Trust Construction and KDDI.

 

2.9. Mascot

The Mascots comprise "Karappe" (karatsupe) as well as "Karara" (karara) Two Yatagarasu sporting jerseys of the Japan national football team's kit. The mascots were created for the team by Japanese manga creator Susumu Matsushita. Every year, when a new kit is released the uniforms of the mascots are updated to be in line with the kit utilized for the squad.

In 2014's 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Pokemon character Pikachu was the mascot.

 

3. Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

3.1. 2021

7 October2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Saudi Arabia  1–0  Japan Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
12 October2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Japan  2–1  Australia Saitama, Japan
11 November2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Vietnam  0–1  Japan Hanoi, Vietnam
16 November2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Oman  0–1  Japan Muscat, Oman

3.2. 2022

27 January2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Japan  2–0  China Saitama, Japan
1 February2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Japan  2–0  Saudi Arabia Saitama, Japan
24 March2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Australia  0–2  Japan Sydney, Australia
29 March2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Japan  1–1  Vietnam Saitama, Japan
2 June2022 Kirin Challenge Cup Japan  4–1  Paraguay Sapporo, Japan
6 June2022 Kirin Challenge Cup Japan  0–1  Brazil Tokyo, Japan
10 June2022 Kirin Cup Soccer Japan  4–1  Ghana Kobe, Japan
14 June2022 Kirin Cup Soccer Japan  0–3  Tunisia Osaka, Japan
19 July2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship Japan  6–0  Hong Kong Ibaraki, Japan
24 July2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship Japan  0–0  China Toyota, Japan
27 July2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship Japan  3–0  South Korea Toyota, Japan
23 September2022 Kirin Challenge Cup Japan  v  United States Düsseldorf, Germany
27 September2022 Kirin Challenge Cup Japan  v  Ecuador Düsseldorf, Germany
17 NovemberInternational Friendly Canada  v  Japan Dubai, United Arab Emirates
23 November2022 FIFA World Cup Germany  v  Japan Doha, Qatar
27 November2022 FIFA World Cup Japan  v  Costa Rica Al Rayyan, Qatar
1 December2022 FIFA World Cup Japan  v  Spain Doha, Qatar

4. Coaching staff

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4.1. Current coaching staff

Role Name
Head coach  Hajime Moriyasu
Assistant coach  Akinobu Yokouchi
 Toshihide Saito
 Yusaku Ueno
Goalkeeping coach  Takashi Shimoda
Physical coach  Ryoichi Matsumoto

4.2. Manager history

Manager Period Record
Matches Won Draw Lost Win %
 Masujiro Nishida 1923 2 0 0 2 0%
 Goro Yamada 1925 2 0 0 2 0%
Vacant 1925 2 1 0 1 50%
 Shigeyoshi Suzuki (1st) 1930 2 1 1 0 50%
 Shigemaru Takenokoshi (1st) 1934 3 1 0 2 33.33%
 Shigeyoshi Suzuki (2nd) 1936 2 1 1 0 50%
 Shigemaru Takenokoshi (2nd) 1940 1 1 0 0 100%
 Hirokazu Ninomiya 1951 3 1 1 1 33.33%
 Shigemaru Takenokoshi (3rd) 1954–56 12 2 4 6 16.66%
 Taizo Kawamoto 1958 2 0 0 2 0%
 Shigemaru Takenokoshi (4th) 1958–59 12 4 2 6 33.33%
Vacant 1960 1 0 0 1 0%
 Hidetoki Takahashi 1961–1962 14 3 2 9 21.43%
 Ken Naganuma (1st) 1963–1969 31 18 7 6 58.06%
 Shunichiro Okano 1970–1971 19 11 2 6 57.90%
 Ken Naganuma (2nd) 1972–1976 42 16 6 20 38.09%
 Hiroshi Ninomiya 1976–1978 27 6 6 15 22.22%
 Yukio Shimomura 1979–1980 14 8 4 2 57.14%
 Masashi Watanabe 1980 3 2 0 1 66.67%
 Saburō Kawabuchi 1980–1981 10 3 2 5 30%
 Takaji Mori 1981–1985 43 22 5 16 51.16%
 Yoshinobu Ishii 1986–1987 17 11 2 4 64.70%
 Kenzo Yokoyama 1988–1991 24 5 7 12 20.83%
 Hans Ooft 1992–1993 27 16 7 4 59.25%
 Paulo Roberto Falcão 1994 9 3 4 2 33.33%
 Shu Kamo 1994–1997 46 23 10 13 50%
 Takeshi Okada (1st) 1997–1998 15 5 4 6 33.33%
 Philippe Troussier 1998–2002 50 23 16 11 46%
 Zico 2002–2006 71 37 16 18 52.11%
 Ivica Osim 2006–2007 20 13 5 3 65%
 Takeshi Okada (2nd) 2007–2010 50 26 13 11 52%
 Hiromi Hara (caretaker) 2010 2 2 0 0 100%
 Alberto Zaccheroni 2010–2014 55 30 12 13 54.54%
 Javier Aguirre 2014–2015 10 7 1 2 70%
 Vahid Halilhodžić 2015–2018 38 21 9 8 55.26%
 Akira Nishino 2018 7 2 1 4 28.57%
 Hajime Moriyasu 2018– 55 38 7 10 69.09%
Manager Period Record
Matches Won Draw Lost Win %

5. Players

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5.1. Current Squad

The following 30 players were called up for the friendly matches against United States and Ecuador on 23 and 27 September 2022.

Caps and goals as of 27 July 2022, after the match against  South Korea.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Eiji Kawashima 20 March 1983 (age 39) 95 0  Strasbourg
12 GK ShÅ«ichi Gonda 3 March 1989 (age 33) 32 0  Shimizu S-Pulse
23 GK Daniel Schmidt 3 February 1992 (age 30) 9 0  Sint-Truiden
30 GK Kosei Tani 22 November 2000 (age 21) 1 0  Shonan Bellmare

2 DF Miki Yamane 22 December 1993 (age 28) 13 2  Kawasaki Frontale
3 DF Shogo Taniguchi 15 July 1991 (age 31) 12 0  Kawasaki Frontale
4 DF Ayumu Seko 7 June 2000 (age 22) 0 0  Grasshoppers
5 DF Yuto Nagatomo 12 September 1986 (age 36) 136 4  FC Tokyo
16 DF Takehiro Tomiyasu 5 November 1998 (age 23) 28 1  Arsenal
19 DF Hiroki Sakai 12 April 1990 (age 32) 70 1  Urawa Red Diamonds
20 DF Yuta Nakayama 16 February 1997 (age 25) 16 0  Huddersfield Town
22 DF Maya Yoshida (captain) 24 August 1988 (age 34) 119 12  Schalke 04
28 DF Hiroki Ito 12 May 1999 (age 23) 3 0  VfB Stuttgart

6 MF Wataru Endo 9 February 1993 (age 29) 41 2  VfB Stuttgart
7 MF Gaku Shibasaki 28 May 1992 (age 30) 58 3  Leganés
8 MF Genki Haraguchi 9 May 1991 (age 31) 73 11  Union Berlin
10 MF Takumi Minamino 16 January 1995 (age 27) 42 17  Monaco[a]
11 MF Takefusa Kubo 4 June 2001 (age 21) 18 1  Real Sociedad
13 MF Hidemasa Morita 10 May 1995 (age 27) 16 2  Sporting CP
14 MF Junya Ito 9 March 1993 (age 29) 36 9  Reims
15 MF Daichi Kamada 5 August 1996 (age 26) 19 5  Eintracht Frankfurt
17 MF Ao Tanaka 10 September 1998 (age 24) 13 2  Fortuna Düsseldorf
18 MF Kaoru Mitoma 20 May 1997 (age 25) 7 4  Brighton & Hove Albion
21 MF Ritsu Dōan 16 June 1998 (age 24) 26 3  SC Freiburg
24 MF Reo Hatate 21 November 1997 (age 24) 1 0  Celtic
27 MF Yuki Soma 25 February 1997 (age 25) 6 3  Nagoya Grampus

9 FW Kyogo Furuhashi 20 January 1995 (age 27) 15 3  Celtic
25 FW Daizen Maeda 20 October 1997 (age 24) 7 1  Celtic
26 FW Ayase Ueda 28 August 1998 (age 24) 9 0  Cercle Brugge
29 FW Shuto Machino 30 September 1999 (age 22) 3 3  Shonan Bellmare

5.2. Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the squad in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Keisuke Osako 28 July 1999 (age 23) 3 0  Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
GK Zion Suzuki 22 August 2002 (age 20) 1 0  Urawa Red Diamonds 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship

DF Sho Sasaki 2 October 1989 (age 32) 15 2  Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Shinnosuke Hatanaka 25 August 1995 (age 27) 10 0  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Shinnosuke Nakatani 24 March 1996 (age 26) 5 0  Nagoya Grampus 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Daiki Sugioka 8 September 1998 (age 24) 5 0  Shonan Bellmare 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Ryuta Koike 29 August 1995 (age 27) 2 0  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Hayato Araki 7 August 1996 (age 26) 1 0  Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Takuma Ominami 13 December 1997 (age 24) 1 0  Kashiwa Reysol 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
DF Ko Itakura 27 January 1997 (age 25) 12 1  Borussia Mönchengladbach v.  Tunisia, 14 June 2022
DF Yukinari Sugawara 28 June 2000 (age 22) 1 0  AZ v.  Paraguay, 2 June 2022 INJ
DF Naomichi Ueda 24 October 1994 (age 27) 16 1  Nîmes v.  Vietnam, 29 March 2022
DF Ryuya Nishio 16 May 2001 (age 21) 0 0  Cerezo Osaka Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
DF Sei Muroya 5 April 1994 (age 28) 16 0  Hannover 96 v.  Oman, 11 November 2021
DF Daiki Hashioka 17 May 1999 (age 23) 2 0  Sint-Truiden v.  Australia, 12 October 2021

MF Kento Hashimoto 16 August 1993 (age 29) 15 1  Huesca 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Ryo Miyaichi 14 December 1992 (age 29) 5 0  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Tomoki Iwata 7 April 1997 (age 25) 4 0  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Tsukasa Morishima 25 April 1997 (age 25) 4 0  Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Yasuto Wakizaka 11 June 1995 (age 27) 4 0  Kawasaki Frontale 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Joel Chima Fujita 16 February 2002 (age 20) 2 0  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Kota Mizunuma 22 February 1990 (age 32) 2 0  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Gakuto Notsuda 6 June 1994 (age 28) 1 0  Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
MF Ataru Esaka 31 May 1992 (age 30) 1 0  Urawa Red Diamonds Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
MF Sho Inagaki 25 December 1991 (age 30) 1 2  Nagoya Grampus Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
MF Ryotaro Araki 29 January 2002 (age 20) 0 0  Kashima Antlers Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
MF Daiki Matsuoka 1 June 2001 (age 21) 0 0  Shimizu S-Pulse Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
MF Yuito Suzuki 25 October 2001 (age 20) 0 0  Shimizu S-Pulse Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
MF Kota Watanabe 18 October 1998 (age 23) 0 0  Yokohama F. Marinos Chiba Training Camp, January 2022
MF Kōji Miyoshi 26 March 1997 (age 25) 5 2  Antwerp v.  Australia, 12 October 2021

FW Yoshinori Muto 15 July 1992 (age 30) 29 3  Vissel Kobe 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship INJ
FW Takuma Nishimura 22 October 1996 (age 25) 3 2  Yokohama F. Marinos 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
FW Makoto Mitsuta 20 July 1999 (age 23) 2 0  Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
FW Mao Hosoya 7 September 2001 (age 21) 1 0  Kashiwa Reysol 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
FW Yuto Iwasaki 11 June 1998 (age 24) 1 0  Sagan Tosu 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship
FW Takuma Asano 10 November 1994 (age 27) 36 7  VfL Bochum v.  Tunisia, 14 June 2022
FW Daichi Hayashi 23 May 1997 (age 25) 0 0  Sint-Truiden v.  Vietnam, 29 March 2022
FW Yuya Osako 18 May 1990 (age 32) 57 25  Vissel Kobe v.  Australia, 24 March 2022 INJ
FW Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa 9 July 1998 (age 24) 0 0  Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Chiba Training Camp, January 2022 INJ
FW Ado Onaiwu 8 November 1995 (age 26) 3 3  Toulouse v.  Australia, 12 October 2021

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

6. Records

As of 14 June 2022
Players in bold are still active with Japan.

6.1. Most appearances

Rank Player Caps Goals Pos Career
1 Yasuhito Endō 152 15 MF 2002–2015
2 Yuto Nagatomo 136 4 DF 2008–
3 Masami Ihara 122 5 DF 1988–1999
4 Shinji Okazaki 119 50 FW 2008– 2019
Maya Yoshida 119 12 DF 2010–
6 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi 116 0 GK 1997–2010
7 Makoto Hasebe 114 2 MF 2006–2018
8 Yuji Nakazawa 110 17 DF 1999–2010
9 Shunsuke Nakamura 98 24 MF 2000–2010
Keisuke Honda 98 37 MF 2008–2018

6.2. Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Kunishige Kamamoto 75 76 0.99 1964–1977
2 Kazuyoshi Miura 55 89 0.62 1990–2000
3 Shinji Okazaki 50 119 0.42 2008–2019
4 Hiromi Hara 37 75 0.49 1978–1988
Keisuke Honda 37 98 0.38 2008–2018
6 Shinji Kagawa 31 97 0.32 2008–2019
7 Takuya Takagi 27 44 0.61 1992–1997
8 Kazushi Kimura 26 54 0.48 1979–1986
9 Yuya Osako 25 57 0.44 2013–
10 Shunsuke Nakamura 24 98 0.24 2000–2010

6.3. Captains

Name Pos Period Note
Shigeo Yaegashi MF 1968 Summer Olympics bronze medalist leading captain (1968)
Aritatsu Ogi MF 1969–1974  
Kunishige Kamamoto FW 1975–1977  
Nobuo Fujishima MF 1978  
Hiroshi Ochiai MF DF 1978–1979  
Hideki Maeda MF 1980–1981  
Mitsuhisa Taguchi GK 1982–1984  
Kazushi Kimura MF 1986  
Hisashi Kato DF 1985–1987  
Hiromi Hara FW 1988  
Shigetatsu Matsunaga GK 1989  
Shinichi Morishita GK 1990  
Tetsuji Hashiratani MF 1991–1995 AFC Asian Cup winning captain (1992)
Masami Ihara DF 1996–1999  
Masashi Nakayama FW 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup runners-up leading captain (2001)
Ryuzo Morioka CB 2000–2002 AFC Asian Cup winning captain (2000)
Hidetoshi Nakata CM 2002–2004  
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto CB 2003–2006 AFC Asian Cup winning captain (2004), East Asian Football Championship runners-up leading captain (2003) (2005)
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi GK 2006–2008 East Asian Football Championship runners-up leading captain (2008)
Yuji Nakazawa CB 2008–2010 East Asian Football Championship third place leading captain (2010)
Makoto Hasebe DM 2010–2018 AFC Asian Cup winning captain (2011)
Yuichi Komano DF 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup winning captain (2013)
Gen Shoji CB 2017 EAFF E-1 Championship runners-up leading captain (2017)
Maya Yoshida CB 2018–present AFC Asian Cup runners-up leading captain (2019)
Sho Sasaki LB 2019 EAFF E-1 Championship runners-up leading captain (2019)
Shogo Taniguchi CB 2022 EAFF E-1 Championship winning captain (2022)

7. Competitive record

*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty shootouts. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicate 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.

7.1. FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record   Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
 1930 Did not enter No qualification
 1934 Did not enter
 1938 Withdrew Withdrew
 1950 Suspended from FIFA Suspended from FIFA
 1954 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 3 7
 1958 Did not enter Did not enter
 1962 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 4
 1966 Did not enter Did not enter
 1970 Did not qualify 4 0 2 2 4 8
 1974 4 1 0 3 5 4
 1978 4 0 1 3 0 5
 1982 4 2 0 2 4 2
 1986 8 5 1 2 15 5
 1990 6 2 3 1 7 3
 1994 13 9 3 1 35 6
 1998 Group stage 31st 3 0 0 3 1 4 Squad 15 9 5 1 51 12
 2002 Round of 16 9th 4 2 1 1 5 3 Squad Qualified as hosts
 2006 Group stage 28th 3 0 1 2 2 7 Squad 12 11 0 1 25 5
 2010 Round of 16 9th 4 2 1 1 4 2 Squad 14 8 4 2 23 9
 2014 Group stage 29th 3 0 1 2 2 6 Squad 14 8 3 3 30 8
 2018 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 6 7 Squad 18 13 3 2 44 7
 2022 Qualified 18 15 1 2 58 6
 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total Round of 16 7/22 21 5 5 11 20 29 138 83 27 28 305 91

7.1.1. Match history

FIFA World Cup history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
1998 Group stage  Argentina 0–1 Loss
Group stage  Croatia 0–1 Loss
Group stage  Jamaica 1–2 Loss
 
2002 Group stage  Belgium 2–2 Draw
Group stage  Russia 1–0 Win
Group stage  Tunisia 2–0 Win
Round of 16  Turkey 0–1 Loss
 
2006 Group stage  Australia 1–3 Loss
Group stage  Croatia 0–0 Draw
Group stage  Brazil 1–4 Loss
 
2010 Group stage  Cameroon 1–0 Win
Group stage  Netherlands 0–1 Loss
Group stage  Denmark 3–1 Win
Round of 16  Paraguay 0–0 (3–5) Draw (Loss)
 
2014 Group stage  Ivory Coast 1–2 Loss
Group stage  Greece 0–0 Draw
Group stage  Colombia 1–4 Loss
 
2018 Group stage  Colombia 2–1 Win
Group stage  Senegal 2–2 Draw
Group stage  Poland 0–1 Loss
Round of 16  Belgium 2–3 Loss
 
2022 Group stage  Germany v  
Group stage  Costa Rica v  
Group stage  Spain v  
 

7.2. AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup record   Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
 1956 Withdrew Withdrew
 1960
 1964
 1968 Did not qualify 4 3 1 0 8 4
 1972 Withdrew Withdrew
 1976 Did not qualify 5 2 1 2 4 4
 1980 Withdrew Withdrew
 1984
 1988 Group stage 10th 4 0 1 3 0 6 Squad 4 2 1 1 6 3
 1992 Champions 1st 5 3 2 0 6 3 Squad Qualified as hosts
 1996 Quarter-finals 5th 4 3 0 1 7 3 Squad Qualified as champions
 2000 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 21 6 Squad 3 3 0 0 15 0
 2004 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 13 6 Squad Qualified as champions
 2007 Fourth place 4th 6 2 3 1 11 7 Squad 6 5 0 1 15 2
 2011 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 14 6 Squad 6 5 0 1 17 4
 2015 Quarter-finals 5th 4 3 1 0 8 1 Squad Qualified as champions
 2019 Runners-up 2nd 7 6 0 1 12 6 Squad 8 7 1 0 27 0
 2023 Qualified 8 8 0 0 46 2
Total 4 Titles 10/18 48 30 12 6 92 44 44 35 4 5 138 19

7.2.1. Match history

AFC Asian Cup history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
1988 Group stage  Iran 0–0 Draw
Group stage  South Korea 0–2 Loss
Group stage  UAE 0–1 Loss
Group stage  Qatar 0–3 Loss
 
1992 Group stage  UAE 0–0 Draw
Group stage  North Korea 1–1 Draw
Group stage  Iran 1–0 Win
Semi-finals  China 3–2 Win
Final  Saudi Arabia 1–0 Win
 
1996 Group stage  Syria 2–1 Win
Group stage  Uzbekistan 4–0 Win
Group stage  China 1–0 Win
Quarter-finals  Kuwait 0–2 Loss
 
2000 Group stage  Saudi Arabia 4–1 Win
Group stage  Uzbekistan 8–1 Win
Group stage  Qatar 1–1 Draw
Quarter-finals  Iraq 4–1 Win
Semi-finals  China 3–2 Win
Final  Saudi Arabia 1–0 Win
 
2004 Group stage  Oman 1–0 Win
Group stage  Thailand 4–1 Win
Group stage  Iran 0–0 Draw
Quarter-finals  Jordan 1–1 4–3 Draw Win
Semi-finals  Bahrain 4–3 Win
Final  China 3–1 Win
 
2007 Group stage  Qatar 1–1 Draw
Group stage  UAE 3–1 Win
Group stage  Vietnam 4–1 Win
Quarter-finals  Australia 1–1 4–3 Draw Win
Semi-finals  Saudi Arabia 2–3 Loss
Third play-off  South Korea 0–0 5–6 Draw Loss
 
2011 Group stage  Jordan 1–1 Draw
Group stage  Syria 2–1 Win
Group stage  Saudi Arabia 5–0 Win
Quarter-finals  Qatar 3–2 Win
Semi-finals  South Korea 2–2 3–0 Draw Win
Final  Australia 1–0 Win
 
2015 Group stage  Palestine 4–0 Win
Group stage  Iraq 1–0 Win
Group stage  Jordan 2–0 Win
Quarter-finals  UAE 1–1 4–5 Draw Loss
 
2019 Group stage  Turkmenistan 3–2 Win
Group stage  Oman 1–0 Win
Group stage  Uzbekistan 2–1 Win
Round of 16  Saudi Arabia 1–0 Win
Quarter-finals  Vietnam 1–0 Win
Semi-finals  Iran 3–0 Win
Final  Qatar 1–3 Loss
 
2023 Group stage TBD  
Group stage TBD  
Group stage TBD  
 

7.3. Copa América

Japan has been the only non-European team outside of the Americas to take part in the Copa America, having been invited to the 1999 Copa America. The team from Japan has also been invited to participate in the 2011 event and initially was willing to accept the invitation. But, after the devastating 2011 Tohoku Tsunami and earthquake The JFA was forced to withdraw on May 16, 2011 in protest of the difficulties of releasing some Japanese participants of European teams to serve in their place. The following day CONMEBOL requested Costa Rica to take over Japan in the contest.

On August 16, 2013 CONMEBOL President Eugenio Figueredo made an announcement the news that Japan received an invitation to participate in the Copa America in 2015. Copa America. Then, Japan later declined the invitation due to scheduling issues.

Copa América record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
 1999 Group stage 10th 3 0 1 2 3 8 Squad
 2011 Withdrew
 2015 Withdrew
 2019  Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 3 7 Squad
Total Group stage 2/4 6 0 3 3 6 15

7.3.1. Match history

CONMEBOL Copa América history
Year Round Opponent Score Result Stadium
1999 Group stage  Peru 2–3 Loss Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
 Paraguay 0–4 Loss
 Bolivia 1–1 Draw Monumental Rio Parapiti, Pedro Juan Caballero
 
2019 Group stage  Chile 0–4 Loss Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo
 Uruguay 2–2 Draw Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre
 Ecuador 1–1 Draw Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
 

7.4. FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
 1992 Did not qualify
 1995 Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 1 8 Squad
 1997 Did not qualify
 1999
 2001 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 6 1 Squad
 2003 Group stage 6th 3 1 0 2 4 3 Squad
 2005 Group stage 5th 3 1 1 1 4 4 Squad
 2009 Did not qualify
 2013 Group stage 7th 3 0 0 3 4 9 Squad
 2017 Did not qualify
Total Runners-up 5/10 16 5 2 9 19 25

7.4.1. Match history

FIFA Confederations Cup history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
1995 Group stage  Nigeria 0–3 Loss
Group stage  Argentina 1–5 Loss
 
2001 Group stage  Canada 3–0 Win
Group stage  Cameroon 2–0 Win
Group stage  Brazil 0–0 Draw
Semi-finals  Australia 1–0 Win
Final  France 0–1 Loss
 
2003 Group stage  New Zealand 3–0 Win
Group stage  France 1–2 Loss
Group stage  Colombia 0–1 Loss
 
2005 Group stage  Mexico 1–2 Loss
Group stage  Greece 1–0 Win
Group stage  Brazil 2–2 Draw
 
2013 Group stage  Brazil 0–3 Loss
Group stage  Italy 3–4 Loss
Group stage  Mexico 1–2 Loss
 

7.5. Olympic Games

Since 1992, the Olympic team has been drawn from a squad with a maximum of three players over 23 years age, and the achievements of this team are not generally regarded as part of the national team's records, nor are the statistics credited to the players' international records.

Summer Olympics record   Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
 1908 Did not enter Did not enter
 1912
 1920
 1924
 1928
 1936 Quarter-finals 8th 2 1 0 1 3 10 Squad No qualification
 1948 Did not enter Did not enter
 1952
 1956 First round 10th 1 0 0 1 0 2 Squad No qualification
 1960 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 1 2
 1964 Quarter-finals 8th 3 1 0 2 5 9 Squad Qualified as hosts
 1968 Bronze medalists 3rd 6 3 2 1 9 8 Squad 5 4 1 0 26 4
 1972 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 14 7
 1976 6 2 1 3 9 11
 1980 5 3 1 1 16 5
 1984 10 3 1 6 26 17
 1988 8 6 1 1 19 3
1992–present See Japan national under-23 team  
Total Bronze medalists 4/17 12 5 2 5 17 29 40 21 5 14 111 49

7.5.1. Match history

Summer Olympics history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
1936 First round  Sweden 3–2 Win
Quarter-finals  Italy 0–8 Loss
 
1956 First round  Australia 0–2 Loss
 
1964 Group stage  Argentina 3–2 Win
Group stage  Ghana 2–3 Loss
Quarter-finals  Czechoslovakia 0–4 Loss
 
1968 Group stage  Nigeria 3–1 Win
Group stage  Brazil 1–1 Draw
Group stage  Spain 0–0 Draw
Quarter-finals  France 3–1 Win
Semi-finals  Hungary 0–5 Loss
Bronze play-off  Mexico 2–0 Win
 

7.6. Asian Games

Asian Games record
Year Result Pld W D L GF GA
 1951 Third place 3 1 1 1 4 3
 1954 10th 2 0 0 2 5 8
 1958 12th 2 0 0 2 0 3
 1962 6th 3 1 0 2 3 4
 1966 Third place 7 6 0 1 18 5
 1970 Fourth place 7 5 0 2 8 5
 1974 9th 3 1 1 1 5 4
 1978 9th 3 1 0 2 5 5
 1982 5th 4 3 0 1 6 3
 1986 9th 4 2 0 2 9 4
 1990 8th 3 1 0 2 3 3
 1994 7th 4 1 2 1 9 5
 1998 9th 5 3 0 2 8 4
2002–present See Japan national under-23 football team
Total 13/13 50 25 4 21 83 56

7.6.1. Match history

Asian Games history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
1951 Semi-finals  Iran 0–0 Draw
Replay match  Iran 2–3 Loss
Bronze play-off  Afghanistan 2–0 Win
 
1954 First round  Indonesia 3–5 Loss
First round  India 2–3 Loss
 
1958 First round  Philippines 0–1 Loss
First round  Hong Kong 0–2 Loss
 
1962 First round  Thailand 3–1 Win
First round  India 0–2 Loss
First round  South Korea 0–1 Loss
 
1966 First round  India 2–1 Win
First round  Iran 3–1 Win
First round  Malaysia 1–0 Win
Second round  Singapore    
   Thailand 5–1 Win
Semi-finals  Iran 0–1 Loss
Bronze play-off  Singapore 2–0 Win
 
1970 First round  Malaysia 1–0 Win
First round  Khmer Republic 1–0 Win
First round  Burma 2–1 Win
Second round  Indonesia 2–1 Win
Second round  India 1–0 Win
Semi-finals  South Korea 1–2 Loss
Bronze play-off  India 0–1 Loss
 
1974 First round  Philippines 4–0 Win
First round  Malaysia 1–1 Draw
First round  Israel 0–3 Loss
 
1978 First round  Kuwait 0–2 Loss
First round  Bahrain 4–0 Win
First round  South Korea 1–3 Loss
 
1982 First round  Iran 1–0 Win
First round  South Yemen 3–1 Win
First round  South Korea 2–1 Win
Quarter-finals  Iraq 0–1 Loss
 
1986 First round    Nepal 5–0 Win
First round  Iran 0–2 Loss
First round  Kuwait 0–2 Loss
First round  Bangladesh 4–0 Win
 
1990 First round  Bangladesh 3–0 Win
First round  Saudi Arabia 0–2 Loss
Quarter-finals  Iran 0–1 Loss
 
1994 First round  UAE 1–1 Draw
First round  Qatar 1–1 Draw
First round  Myanmar 5–0 Win
Quarter-finals  South Korea 2–3 Loss
 
1998 First round    Nepal 5–0 Win
First round  India 1–0 Win
Second round  South Korea 0–2 Loss
Second round  Kuwait 2–1 Win
Second round  UAE 0–1 Loss
 

7.7. EAFF E-1 Championship

EAFF E-1 Championship record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
 2003 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 1 0 3 0 Squad
 2005 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 1 1 3 3 Squad
 2008 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 3 2 Squad
 2010 Third Place 3rd 3 1 1 1 4 3 Squad
 2013 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 8 6 Squad
 2015 Fourth Place 4th 3 0 2 1 3 4 Squad
 2017 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 4 5 Squad
 2019 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 7 2 Squad
 2022 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 9 0 Squad
Total Champions 9/9 27 13 9 5 44 25

7.7.1. Match history

EAFF E-1 Championship history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
2003 First match  China 2–0 Win
Second match  Hong Kong 1–0 Win
Third match  South Korea 0–0 Draw
 
2005 First match  North Korea 0–1 Loss
Second match  China 2–2 Draw
Third match  South Korea 1–0 Win
 
2008 First match  North Korea 1–1 Draw
Second match  China 1–0 Win
Third match  South Korea 1–1 Draw
 
2010 First match  China 0–0 Draw
Second match  Hong Kong 3–0 Win
Third match  South Korea 1–3 Loss
 
2013 First match  China 3–3 Draw
Second match  Australia 3–2 Win
Third match  South Korea 2–1 Win
 
2015 First match  North Korea 1–2 Loss
Second match  South Korea 1–1 Draw
Third match  China 1–1 Draw
 
2017 First match  North Korea 1–0 Win
Second match  China 2–1 Win
Third match  South Korea 1–4 Loss
 
2019 First match  China 2–1 Win
Second match  Hong Kong 5–0 Win
Third match  South Korea 0–1 Loss
 
2022 First match  Hong Kong 6–0 Win
Second match  China 0–0 Draw
Third match  South Korea 3–0 Win
 

8. Head-to-head record

The following table shows Japan's all-time international record, correct as of 27 July 2022.
Opponent From To Pld W D L GF GA  GD 
 Afghanistan 1951 2015 3 3 0 0 13 0 13
 Angola 2005 2005 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
 Argentina 1992 2010 7 1 0 6 4 15 −11
 Australia 1956 2022 27 11 9 7 39 32 7
 Austria 2007 2007 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Azerbaijan 2012 2012 1 1 0 0 2 0 2
 Bahrain 1978 2010 10 8 0 2 17 7 10
 Bangladesh 1975 1993 5 5 0 0 22 1 21
 Belarus 2013 2013 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 Belgium 1999 2018 6 2 2 2 11 8 3
 Bolivia 1999 2019 3 2 1 0 4 1 3
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006 2016 3 1 1 1 6 4 2
 Brazil 1989 2022 13 0 2 11 5 35 −30
 Brunei 1980 2000 3 3 0 0 18 2 16
 Bulgaria 1976 2016 6 1 1 4 10 13 −3
 Cambodia 1970 2015 4 4 0 0 10 1 9
 Cameroon 2001 2020 5 3 2 0 5 0 5
 Canada 2001 2013 2 2 0 0 5 1 4
 Chile 2008 2019 3 1 1 1 4 4 0
 China 1917 2021 35 15 8 12 45 52 −7
 Chinese Taipei 1963 1983 7 4 2 1 17 8 9
 Colombia 2003 2019 5 1 1 3 3 7 −4
 Costa Rica 1995 2018 4 3 1 0 10 2 8
 Croatia 1997 2006 3 1 1 1 4 4 0
 Cyprus 2014 2014 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
 Czech Republic 1998 2011 3 1 2 0 1 0 1
 Denmark 1971 2010 2 1 0 1 5 4 1
 Ecuador 1995 2019 3 2 1 0 5 1 4
 Egypt 1998 2007 2 2 0 0 5 1 4
 El Salvador 2019 2019 1 1 0 0 2 0 2
 England 1995 2010 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2
 Finland 2006 2009 2 2 0 0 7 1 6
 France 1994 2012 6 1 1 4 5 14 −9
 Germany 2004 2006 2 0 1 1 2 5 −3
 Ghana 1964 2022 8 5 0 3 18 14 4
 Greece 2005 2014 2 1 1 0 1 0 1
 Guatemala 2010 2013 2 2 0 0 5 1 4
 Haiti 2017 2017 1 0 1 0 3 3 0
 Honduras 2002 2014 3 2 1 0 14 7 7
 Hong Kong 1958 2022 24 13 5 6 48 21 27
 Hungary 1993 2004 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2
 Iceland 1971 2012 3 3 0 0 8 3 5
 India 1954 2006 12 9 0 3 36 11 25
 Indonesia 1934 1989 18 10 2 6 39 25 14
 Iran 1951 2019 18 6 6 6 21 19 2
 Iraq 1978 2016 13 7 3 3 19 10 9
 Israel 1973 1977 7 0 0 7 2 17 −15
 Italy 1936 2013 3 0 1 2 4 13 −9
 Ivory Coast 1993 2020 5 3 0 2 4 4 0
 Jamaica 1998 2014 4 2 1 1 7 3 4
 Jordan 1988 2015 6 2 3 1 12 5 7
 Kazakhstan 1997 2005 3 2 1 0 10 2 8
 Kuwait 1978 1996 5 1 0 4 2 8 −6
 Kyrgyzstan 2018 2021 3 3 0 0 11 1 10
 Latvia 2005 2013 2 1 1 0 5 2 3
 Lebanon 1967 1967 1 1 0 0 3 1 2
 Macau 1980 2000 4 4 0 0 26 0 26
 Malaysia 1958 2004 26 9 7 10 40 43 −3
 Mali 2018 2018 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Malta 2006 2006 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
 Mexico 1996 2020 7 1 0 6 6 15 −9
 Mongolia 2019 2021 2 2 0 0 20 0 20
 Montenegro 2007 2007 1 1 0 0 2 0 2
 Myanmar 1955 2021 14 7 5 2 29 12 17
   Nepal 1986 1997 5 5 0 0 28 0 28
 Netherlands 2009 2013 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4
 New Zealand 1981 2017 6 3 0 3 10 8 2
 Nigeria 1968 2003 4 2 1 1 8 6 2
 North Korea 1975 2017 19 8 4 7 19 14 5
 Norway 2002 2002 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3
 Oman 1988 2021 15 10 3 2 21 6 15
 Pakistan 1962 1988 2 1 1 0 5 2 3
 Palestine 2015 2015 1 1 0 0 4 0 4
 Panama 2018 2020 2 2 0 0 4 0 4
 Paraguay 1995 2022 12 5 4 2 19 11 8
 Peru 1967 2011 7 2 3 2 4 5 −1
 Philippines 1915 1983 20 15 0 5 88 35 53
 Poland 1981 2018 7 2 0 5 10 14 −4
 Qatar 1983 2019 10 2 4 4 12 15 −3
 Romania 1974 2003 4 0 1 3 3 12 −9
 Russia 1978 2002 4 1 0 3 3 11 −8
 Saudi Arabia 1990 2021 16 10 1 5 25 13 12
 Scotland 1995 2009 3 1 2 0 2 0 2
 Senegal 1987 2018 4 0 2 2 4 7 −3
 Serbia 1961 2021 10 4 0 6 7 20 −13
 Singapore 1959 2015 26 21 2 3 58 18 40
 Slovakia 2000 2004 3 2 1 0 5 2 3
 Spain 2001 2001 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 South Africa 2009 2009 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 South Korea 1954 2022 81 16 23 42 76 124 −48
 South Vietnam 1961 1973 5 4 0 1 14 5 9
 South Yemen 1982 1982 1 1 0 0 3 1 2
 Sri Lanka 1972 1993 3 3 0 0 16 0 16
 Sweden 1936 2002 5 1 3 1 7 7 0
  Switzerland 2007 2018 2 1 0 1 4 5 −1
 Syria 1978 2017 11 9 2 0 27 9 18
 Tajikistan 2011 2021 4 4 0 0 19 1 18
 Thailand 1962 2017 22 16 4 2 52 16 36
 Togo 2009 2009 1 1 0 0 5 0 5
 Trinidad and Tobago 2006 2019 2 1 1 0 2 0 2
 Tunisia 1996 2022 5 4 0 1 6 3 3
 Turkey 1997 2002 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
 Turkmenistan 2019 2019 1 1 0 0 3 2 1
 Ukraine 2002 2018 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1
 United Arab Emirates 1981 2017 19 6 9 4 22 17 5
 United States 1993 2006 2 1 0 1 5 4 1
 Uruguay 1985 2019 7 2 2 4 17 23 −6
 Uzbekistan 1996 2019 11 7 3 1 30 10 20
 Venezuela 2010 2019 5 1 3 1 6 6 0
 Vietnam 2007 2022 5 4 1 0 8 2 6
 Wales 1992 1992 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 Yemen 2006 2010 4 4 0 0 8 3 5
 Zambia 2014 2014 1 1 0 0 4 3 1
Total 1917 2022 765 360 162 243 1,341 932 409

9. FIFA World Ranking

Japan's FIFA World Ranking History
  Rank Year Games
Played
Won Lost Drawn Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
  24 - (25 August 2022)  2022 2 2 0 0 23 (February)  3 26  
  26 2021 12 10 2 0 26 (November)  2 28  1
  27 2020 4 2 1 1 27  1 28  0
  28 2019 23 15 3 5 26  29 33  7
  50 2018 14 6 3 5 41  7 61  5
  57 2017 13 6 3 4 40  7 57  11
  45 2016 10 7 1 2 45  8 58  7
  53 2015 17 11 5 1 50  5 58  8
  54 2014 13 7 2 4 54  2 44  4
  47 2013 19 8 3 8 21  2 48  7
  22 2012 12 8 2 2 19  7 33  11
  19 2011 15 9 5 1 13  12 29  2
  29 2010 18 8 4 6 29  13 46  6
  43 2009 17 11 3 3 31  4 43  9
  35 2008 19 10 7 2 32  4 38  6
  34 2007 13 7 5 1 30  7 46  5
  47 2006 19 9 4 6 15  1 49  13
  15 2005 20 11 3 6 13  5 19  4
  17 2004 22 17 2 3 17  4 29  1
  29 2003 16 6 5 5 22  2 29  3
  22 2002 13 5 5 3 22  8 38  4
  34 2001 13 6 3 4 26  11 44  9
  38 2000 18 10 6 2 34  15 62  6
  57 1999 7 0 4 3 33  0 57  13
  20 1998 18 7 2 8 9  10 30  10
  14 1997 22 11 7 4 14  4 20  2
  21 1996 13 10 1 2 20  6 30  2
  31 1995 17 6 4 7 31  7 41  8
  36 1994 9 3 4 2 36  14 54  12
  43 1993 16 11 3 2 43  23 44  1
  66 1992                

10. Honours

.

10.1. Intercontinental

  • Olympic Games
  •  Bronze medalists: 1968
    • FIFA Confederations Cup
     Runners-up: 2001

10.2. Continental

  • AFC Asian Cup
  •  Champions: 1992, 2000, 2004, 2011
     Runners-up: 2019
    Fourth place: 2007
    • Asian Games
     Third place: 1951, 1966
    Fourth place: 1970

10.3. Regional

  • Far Eastern Games
  •  Champions: 1930
    • Dynasty Cup
     Champions: 1992, 1995, 1998
    Fourth place: 1990
    • EAFF E-1 Football Championship
      • East Asian Football Championship (2003–2010), EAFF East Asian Cup (2013–2015)
     Champions: 2013, 2022
     Runners-up: 2003, 2005, 2008, 2017, 2019
     Third place: 2010

10.4. Others

  • Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
  •  Champions: 1993, 2007
    • AFC – OFC Challenge Cup
     Champions: 2001

10.5. Minor-friendly

  • Kirin Cup
  •  Champions: (12): 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015

11. Awards

  • AFC National Team of the Year
  • Years: 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011
    • Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize
    Years: 2002

FAQ

Daichi Kamada

Japan first wore blue shirts during 1929's Far Eastern Championship Games, which was the first time a team from Tokyo Imperial University (whose color is light blue) was represented by Japan with light blue-colored shirts. They also participated later, in a win of 3-2 against Sweden in the opening game of the team's first major international tournament that was the 1936 Summer Olympics.

2002 Korea Japan FIFA Football World Cup History Winners and the runners-up.

 

sakka

While"officially" the English term used by the Japan Football Association uses the word "football" however,"sakka," the Japanese term (satsuka) is derived from "soccer" is more frequently used as opposed to futoboru (hutsutoboru).

Soccer is among the most played games in Japan. All generations and of all genders play football and soccer. It is believed that the Japanese team of national soccer is one of the top ranked Asian teams around the world.

 

The Japan Football Association (suspended for not paying charges in 1945) as well as the German Football Association (disbanded in 1945 and reorganized in 1950) were not re-admitted in FIFA up to September of 1950 and the Deutscher Fussball-Verband der DDR in East Germany was not admitted to FIFA until 1952.

Japan is known for its natural beauty such as blooming cherry trees and Mount Fuji, cutting-edge technology such as Japanese automobiles and bullet trains bizarre inventions such as karaoke and vending machines, traditional values like punctuality and politeness Manga and anime that are popular as well as mouth-watering dishes such as sushi and ramen.

"Samurai Blue" is a catchy phrase created in the Japan Football Association (JFA) to help the Japanese team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. There were a variety of possible phrases suggested, however "Samurai Blue" was the top preference of the fans during a January poll.

 

The popularity of soccer in Japan was helped due to it being the host of FIFA World Cup hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea in 2002. Comic books also have boosted the game. Japan has numerous traditional sports, as well as numerous others that came into existence in the country since the beginning of 1900 from the time of the early 1900s.

Soccer on September 8 20, 2022

Japan will face Canada at an international game on November. 17. The game will be played in the United Arab Emirates ahead of the World Cup in Qatar starting on the 20thof November, Japan Football Association announced on Thursday. Japan Football Association said Thursday. The match at Dubai is the last warm-up for the 24th-ranked team.

However, the data released on June 1 by the Japanese Central Research Services showed baseball was by far the most popular game in Japan, having 48.1 percent of people saying it was their top game. Sumo wrestling and soccer were a distant second in popularity, with 24.8 percent.

It is governed by Japan Football Association (JFA) which is the governing body of soccer in Japan.

Japan national team for football.

Japan's J-League has been reported to be canceled from FIFA 23 after the league's managing entity as well as EA SPORTS agreed to end their relationship, but it is possible that it will be reinstated in the near future.

Japan has the highest number of players in any Asian country in world football. The national team has toured across the globe and become popular with the public. The five major leagues are coached through Japanese players. They range from Keisuke Honda, to Shinji Kagawa, and famous Nakamura.

 
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