Japan national football team

Association football team
This article is about the men ‘s team. For the women ‘s team, see Japan women ‘s national football team
The Japan national football team ( japanese : サッカー日本代表, Hepburn : Sakkā Nippon Daihyō ), nicknamed the Samurai Blue ( サムライ・ブルー ), represents Japan in men ‘s international football and it is controlled by the Japan Football Association ( JFA ), the governing body for football in Japan.

Japan was not a major football military unit until the end of the 1980s, with a modest and amateur team. Since the 1990s, when japanese football became in full professionalized, Japan has emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia ; they have qualified for the last six FIFA World Cups with second orotund advancements in 2002, 2010, and 2018, and won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. The team has besides finished second in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 AFC asian Cup. Japan remains the only team from the AFC early than Australia and Saudi Arabia to have reached the final of a aged FIFA men ‘s rival. Japan ‘s progression in a short time period has served as an inhalation and exercise of how to develop football. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Their principal continental rivals are South Korea, North Korea, China and, most recently, Australia ; they besides developed rivalries against Iran and Saudi Arabia. Japan was the first gear team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2019 editions of the tournament, though they entirely played in the 1999 and 2019 events. [ 10 ]

history [edit ]

Pre-war Era ( 1910s–1930s ) [edit ]

Japan ‘s earliest international matches were at the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games in Tokyo, where it was represented by a team from the Tokyo Higher Normal School. Although Japan made firm showings in swimming, baseball, and track and field, its football team suffered resounding defeats to the Republic of China and the Philippines. [ 11 ] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in japanese schools in the 1920s. [ 12 ] The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921, [ 13 ] and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929. [ 12 ] Japan ‘s first “ true ” national team ( as opposed to a university team chosen to represent the state ) was fielded at the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, and drew with China for the championship claim. [ 12 ] Shigeyoshi Suzuki coached the national team to its beginning Olympic appearance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. [ 13 ] Japan was an entrant for the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, but withdrew before its scheduled qualifying match against the Dutch East Indies. [ 14 ] After World War II began in dear, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies. [ 12 ] Its final prewar catch for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940. [ 15 ] While Korea was under japanese principle, multiple Koreans played in external contest for Japan, including Kim Yong-sik ( 1936–40 ), Kim Sung-gan ( 1940 ) and Lee Yoo-hyung ( 1940 ) .

Post-war Era ( 1950s–1980s ) [edit ]

Japan ‘s postwar debut was in the 1951 asian Games in India. [ 15 ] Japan re-joined FIFA in 1950 and played in qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but lost the AFC qualifying moor to South Korea after two matches, beginning an intense competition. [ 13 ] Japan besides joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. [ 12 ] Dettmar Cramer joined the Japan national team as bus in 1960, and helped lead the team to the round of eight at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. [ 16 ] Japan ‘s first major accomplishment in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze decoration. Although this solution earned the sport increased recognition in Japan, the absence of a professional domestic league hindered its increase and Japan would not qualify for the FIFA World Cup until 30 years late. [ 17 ] Nonetheless, Japan had come close to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost to South Korea in the decision making matches. Japan made its first gear appearance in the asian Cup in 1988, where they were eliminated in the group stage following a draw with Iran and losses to South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The late 1980s saw concrete moves to professionalize the mutant in Japan. JFA introduced a extra Licensed Player system in 1986, allowing a limit number of master players to compete in the domestic semi-professional league. action committees were held in 1988 and 1989 to discuss the introduction of a fully professional league in Japan. [ 16 ]

1990s : raise [edit ]

In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professional J.League, partially to raise the sport ‘s profile and to strengthen the national team program. The postdate year, Japan hosted the 1992 asian Cup and won their foremost championship by defeating Saudi Arabia in a 1–0 succeed during the final. The J.League was officially launched in 1993, causing sake in football and the national team to grow. however, in its first try to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 World Cup after drawing with Iraq in the final examination peer of the qualification turn, remembered by fans as the “ Agony of Doha “. Japan ‘s future tournament was a refutation of their continental entitle at the 1996 asian Cup. The team won all their games in the group stage but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 2–0 loss to Kuwait. The nation ‘s foremost always World Cup appearance was in 1998, where Japan lost all their games. The first two fixtures went 1–0 in party favor of Argentina and Croatia, and the campaign ended with a 2–1 get the better of to Jamaica. Japan impressed in all three games, however, with all three defeats were just one finish margin .

2000s [edit ]

In the 2000 AFC asian Cup, Japan managed to reclaim their title after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, becoming asian Champions for the second time .
Two years late, Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a 2–2 drawing card with Belgium in their orifice match, the japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1–0 win over Russia and a 2–0 victory against Tunisia. however, they subsequently exited the tournament during the round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey. The 2004 AFC asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title, though its travel had been more perturb. Facing against an entirely hostile chinese fans, the Japanese managed to top their group after two wins over Thailand and Oman, before overwhelm Jordan and Bahrain, both hard-fought games for Japan, to reach the concluding where they beat server China 3–1 .
On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its third base consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. however, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16, losing to Australia 1–3, drawing Croatia 0–0 and losing to Brazil 1–4. The 2007 AFC asian Cup saw Japan failed to defend the title. Although well topped ahead of master of ceremonies Vietnam and two arab rivals, Qatar and the UAE, the Japanese were wholly exhausted in their plot against Australia, where Japan won entirely by penalty gunfight. Having been exhausted for the succeed, Japan lost to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals before failed in the third-place catch to South Korea .

2010s [edit ]

During the 2010 World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the asian Qualifiers, Japan became the first team other than the host South Africa to qualify after defeating Uzbekistan 1–0 away. Japan was put in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon, and was not expected highly due to unimpressive results in friendlies. [ 18 ] Despite this criticism, Japan went on to shock its opening match of the 2010 World Cup with a 1–0 succeed against Cameroon, before subsequently lost to the Netherlands 0–1. then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the future round against Paraguay, making it the first time ever Japan progressed from the group phase without hosting the World Cup. In the beginning smasher turn, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay, but received praises for its great performances. After the World Cup, forefront coach Takeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by early Juventus and Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala ( 2–1 ) and Paraguay ( 1–0 ), a well as one of their best ever results, a 1–0 victory over Argentina. At the start of 2011, Japan participated in the 2011 AFC asian Cup in Qatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in the final after extra time, their fourthly asian Cup prevail and allowing them to qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. [ 19 ] Japan then started their road to 2014 World Cup in Brazil with numerous qualifiers. passim, they suffered entirely two losses to Uzbekistan and Jordan, and drawing against Australia. Afterwards, on 12 October, Japan earned a historic 1–0 victory over France, a team they had never ahead defeated. After a 1–1 draw with Australia they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first state ( outside of Brazil, who hosted the tournament and qualified automatically ) to qualify. Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil. They were then eliminated from the rival after losing to Italy 3–4 in a hard-fought match but received praise for their style of play in the match. They lost their final examination equal 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth plaza in Group A. One calendar month late, in the EAFF East asian Cup, they started out with a 3–3 draw to China. They then beat Australia 3–2 and beat South Korea 2–1 in the third and final match in the 2013 EAFF East asian Cup to claim the title. The road to Brazil looked bright as Japan managed a 2–2 reap with the Netherlands and a 2–3 victory over Belgium. This was followed by three directly wins against Cyprus, Costa Rica and Zambia. Japan was placed into Group C at the 2014 World Cup alongside the Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia. They fell in their first peer to Ivory Coast 2–1 despite initially taking the run, allowing two goals in a two-minute bridge. They drew their second game to Greece 0–0. To qualify for the second gear orotund, they needed a victory against Colombia and needed Greece to beat Ivory Coast. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2–1, but Japan could not perform good against Colombia and were beaten 4–1, eliminating them from the World Cup. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach after the World Cup. In July 2014, erstwhile Mexico and Espanyol director Javier Aguirre took over and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the inaugural game he managed. Aguirre would begin a potent vamp of the team, switching out Zaccheroni ‘s long-used 4–2–3–1 formation for his own 4–3–3 and applied this with a roll of the J.League ‘s finest, dropping many regulars. A 2–2 draw against Venezuela was followed by a 1–0 victory over Jamaica. however, they lost their comply match to Brazil 4–0, with Neymar scoring all four goals. Japan ‘s sights turned to January and their entitle defense at the 2015 AFC asian Cup .
Japan home team five Paraguay in 2008 Japan won its possibility match at the 2015 AFC asian Cup in Group D against asian Cup debutantes Palestine 4–0, with goals from Yasuhito Endō, Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda via a punishment and Maya Yoshida. Okazaki was named man of the catch. They then faced Iraq and Jordan in their following group matches, which they won 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. They qualified to knockout stage as Group D winner with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Japan lost to the United Arab Emirates in a punishment gunfight after a 1–1 draw, as Honda and Shinji Kagawa missed their penalty kicks. Japan ‘s elimination marked their worst performance in the tournament in 19 years. After the asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked follow allegations of corruption during a prior tenure. He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015. Japan started on a rough note during reservation, losing to the UAE 1–2 at home. They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up 5 wins and 2 draws. then, on 31 August 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2–0 at home therefore qualifying them for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, making it their one-sixth consecutive World Cup. however, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup finals, citing reasons of a dislocation in relationship between bus and player, and poor people recent friendly results, and appoint the Technical Director, japanese coach Akira Nishino, who had managed the japanese Under-23 team at the 1996 Olympics, as the fresh coach. [ 20 ]
Japan made history in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by defeating Colombia 2–1, their first ever victory by any AFC team against a CONMEBOL team in an official tournament, [ 21 ] a well as Japan ‘s inaugural always victory at the FIFA World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their irregular match ended in a draw against Senegal, with one goal scored by Takashi Inui and the other by Keisuke Honda. [ 22 ] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 0–1, [ 23 ] leaving Japan and Senegal tied for second with an identical commemorate, however, as Japan had received two fewer yellow cards, Japan advanced to the knockout stage on the Fair Play Points tiebreaker, the first team to do sol. [ 24 ] The equal with Poland caused controversy ; as Japan were made mindful of their advantage over Senegal with ten minutes left and decided to play an highly bourgeois bet on, passing the ball around to one another and keeping it in their own box, seeking to avoid any bookings and did n’t attempt to take any serious shots on goal, despite losing 0–1, with some fans booing the players. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ] The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played. [ 28 ] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the hard stage. [ 29 ] In the Round of 16 against Belgium, Japan took a surprise 2–0 lead with a finish in the 48th minute by Genki Haraguchi and another in the 52nd by Takashi Inui, but yielded 3 goals afterwards, including the achiever by Nacer Chadli on the counterattack in the 94th minute. This was Japan ‘s third gear time having reached the last 16, equaling their best resultant role at a World Cup. [ 30 ] Japan ‘s get the better of to eventual third-place finishers Belgium was the inaugural time a nation had lost a hard couple at the World Cup after taking a two-goal advantage since England lost to West Germany 2–3 in extra-time in the quarter-final of the 1970 edition. [ 31 ] [ 32 ] however, Japan ‘s impressive operation was praised by fans, pundits and medias for their contend spirits, as demonstrated by Japan ‘s acquire over Colombia, a draw to Senegal and a strong anticipate offensive against heavyweight Belgium. [ 33 ] Japan participated in the 2019 AFC asian Cup and had an about successful tournament. The team well topped group F after defeating Turkmenistan 3–2, [ 34 ] Oman 1–0 [ 35 ] and Uzbekistan 2–1. [ 36 ] The team, however, got criticized for its defensive approach, as Japan won the group with only one goal margin wins in all three matches and two late knockout stage ‘s matches as Japan lone beat chap powerhouse Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and iniquity knight Vietnam in the quarter-finals both with 1–0 gross profit. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] The semi-finals saw Japan put the best performance up to date, thrashing rival powerhouse Iran 3–0 to reach the concluding. [ citation needed ] however, Japan ‘s hope to win the fifth asian Cup in two decades shattered with the team suffered a 1–3 personnel casualty to Aspire-based Qatar and finished runner-up of the tournament. [ 39 ] Japan were invited to the 2019 Copa America, their second gear appearance at the tournament, and brought a young squad to the rival. They were in Group C with Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. They lost their possibility match, 0–4 to Chile. [ 40 ] Japan, however, bounced spinal column well and managed to unfortunately draw against football giants Uruguay 2–2, who ( Uruguay ) were deemed to been saved by VAR. [ 41 ] Japan needed a gain against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to deficient goal differences to Paraguay. [ 42 ] Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home. Japan was grouped with Myanmar, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. In a reasonably easy group, Japan proved to be the prevailing impel in their group, having cruised Myanmar, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan without conceding a finish sol far. In December, Japan participated in the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship hosted in South Korea. Coach Moriyasu summoned a young and inexperienced team for the competition. With the young police squad, Japan only managed to win against China and Hong Kong, and lost to rival South Korea, finished second in the rival .

team image [edit ]

Nicknames [edit ]

The japanese team is normally known by the fans and media as Sakkā Nippon Daihyō ( サッカー日本代表 ), Nippon Daihyō ( 日本代表 ), or Daihyō ( 代表 ) as abridge expressions. Although the team does not have an official dub as such, it is often known by the name of the coach. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan ( 岡田ジャパン, Okada Japan ). [ 43 ] recently, the team has been known or nicknamed as the “ Samurai Blue ”, while japanese news program media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup hush referred it to by the recently departed director ‘s ( Akira Nishino ) final name, as “ Nishino Japan ” ( 西野ジャパン, Nishino Japan ). [ 44 ] [ 45 ]

Kits and cap [edit ]

Kits [edit ]

The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the by. In the early on 1980s, the kit was white with blue trim. The kits worn for the 1992 asian Cup consisted of white stripes ( stylized to form a wing ) with loss diamonds. During Japan ‘s first World Cup appearance in 1996 asian Cup and in 1998, the national team kits were blue jerseys with loss and blank flame designs on the sleeves, and were designed by JFA ( with the presenter alternating each year between Asics, Puma, and Adidas ). The 1996 design was reproduced in a special kit used against Syria on 7 June 2017. Japan uses blue and flannel rather than loss and white due to a superstition. Japan first used blue shirts in the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, where a team of the Tokyo Imperial University ( whose color is light blue ) represented Japan wearing light blue shirts, [ 46 ] and then in a 3–2 victory over Sweden in the beginning crippled of its inaugural major external contest, the 1936 Summer Olympics. [ 47 ] When Japan was coached by Kenzo Yokoyama ( 1988–1992 ) the kits were crimson and white, matching the color of Japan ‘s national flag. After failures at 1990 FIFA World Cup and 1992 Summer Olympics qualifications, the crimson shirt was scrapped. In the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2015 AFC asian Cup, Japan temporarily switched the color of the numbers from white to gold. Japan ‘s kit out is provided by german company Adidas, the team ‘s exclusive kit supplier since April 1999. [ 48 ] Before that, Asics and Puma had been the team ‘s official apparel sponsor alongside Adidas. On 3 June 2021, Japan has released the especial hundredth anniversary kit for friendly match against Jamaica, but the match was cancelled and replaced with against U-24 team, and the kit besides used by U-24 team against U-24 Ghana on 5 June 2021 .

Kit suppliers [edit ]

peak [edit ]

The crest or emblem of the national team was adopted in late 2017 as part of a larger rebranding by the Japan Football Association. [ 49 ] The crest features the Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow from japanese mythology that is a symbol for the sun, holding a firm crimson ball that is like the sun from national flag. The text “ JFA ” ( for the Japan Football Association ) is inscribed at the bottom of the corvus. A crimson stripe is besides salute at the focus on of the shield behind the crow. The shield has a metallic aureate trim and has a blockheaded black outline. The name of the area represented by the national team “ Japan ” is besides inscribed within the black border. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] The previous crest used from 1996 had a shield with a more complex determine. The ball held by the Yatagarasu had white details. The text “ Japan ” is absent and “ JFA ” is written in a different font. [ 50 ] Before 1988, Japan used the national flag outlined in bolshevik ( and with JFA written in black on the lower left corner of the flag ) on the shirts. The Yatagarasu was beginning seen on the Japan shirts in 1988, where it was on a yellow encircle with a blue draft with “ JAPAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ” written around it. In 1991, the emblem changed to a white carapace with a red vertical band on the center with the brag on it and “ JFA ” written in a greens Gothic font. This crest was used until 1996 .

home stadium [edit ]

Japan plays its home plate matches among respective stadiums, in rotation, around the country. however, in majority in the concluding turn of every FIFA World Cup reservation, plays at the Japan National Stadium .

Rivalries [edit ]

South Korea [edit ]

Japan maintains a solid football competition with South Korea. The football competition is long-seated and is frequently seen as an extension of an overall historic competition between the 2 nations. Japan have met South Korea 80 times, trailing the statistic at 15 wins, 23 draw, and 42 losses. Japan have scored 73 goals and conceded 153. Both countries have made themselves matchless in both asian Cup and World Cup records, being the two most successful asian countries, and they hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup in a joint invite .

Australia [edit ]

Japan began to develop a cutthroat competition with colleague Asian powerhouse Australia, curtly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ). [ 52 ] The competition is regarded as one of Asia ‘s biggest football rivalries. [ 53 ] The competition is a relatively recent one, born from a number of highly competitive matches between the two teams since Australia joined the AFC in 2006. [ 54 ] The competition began at the 2006 World Cup where the two countries were grouped together, and continued with the two countries meeting regularly in diverse AFC competitions, such as the 2007 AFC asian Cup, the 2011 AFC asian Cup Final and the 2013 EAFF East asian Cup. [ 55 ] Likewise, Australia and Japan besides share a World Cup and continental records that is about matchless in Asia, and besides alike that football is not the main sport in both nations until recently ; yet hold an indistinguishable record that being the merely three members from the AFC to have reached the final of any aged FIFA rival, the other being Saudi Arabia, both in the defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, albeit Australia achieved it when the state was hush belonged to the OFC. [ 56 ]

China [edit ]

Japan besides has a long-standing competition with China, because of historic tensions between two countries in the past. China is leading the series with 16 wins, with Japan alone has 14 wins ; however Japan has achieved more successes than China .

Supporters [edit ]

japanese national team supporters are known for chanting “ Nippon Ole ” ( Nippon is the japanese give voice for Japan ) at dwelling matches. [ 57 ]
A match against Peru in 2007
Japan has one of the highest sponsorship incomes for a national police squad. In 2006 their sponsorship income amounted to over 16.5 million pounds. primary sponsors include Adidas, Kirin, Saison Card International, FamilyMart, JAL, MS & AD Insurance Group, Asahi Shinbun, Mizuho Financial, Daito Trust Construction and KDDI .

official partner [edit ]

Company

Period

Kirin Company
1 April 2015 – 31 December 2022
Dentsu
2007–2015, 20??–present

official supplier [edit ]

Supplier

Period

Adidas Japan
April 2007 – March 2015, 1 April 2015 – present

Supporting company [edit ]

stream [edit ]

former [edit ]

Company

Period

Nissan
April 2001 – March 2007
Daiwa Securities Group
June 2007 – 20??

Sony Marketing Inc.
1 April 2007 – 31 March 2015
Audi Japan
26 May 2011 – 31 March 2015
Konami Digital Entertainment
25 March 2013 – 31 March 2015

Apparel provider [edit ]

stream

Read more: Monetary developments in the euro area: October 2021

[edit ]

Provider

Period

Richemont Japan
2000 – 31 March 2019, 20??–present

former [edit ]

Provider

Period

World Co.
1 April 2015 – 31 March 2017

supplier [edit ]

current [edit ]

Provider

Period

Nishikawa Sangyo
1 April – 31 December 2015

erstwhile [edit ]

Provider

Period

Hublot
1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016

mascot [edit ]

The mascots are “ Karappe ” ( カラッペ ) and “ Karara ” ( カララ ), two Yatagarasu wearing the Japan national football team kit. The mascots were designed by japanese manga artist Susumu Matsushita. Each year when a new kit out is launched, the mascots change uniforms. [ clarification needed ] For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Pokémon quality Pikachu served as the mascot. [ 58 ]

Media coverage [edit ]

FIFA World Cup [edit ]

AFC asian Cup [edit ]

Television channel

Period

Ref.

TV Asahi
2019

friendly and Qualifiers [edit ]

FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round [edit ]

Results and fixtures [edit ]

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

Legend

Win Draw Loss Void or postponed repair

2021 [edit ]

2022 [edit ]

Coaching staff [edit ]

current coaching staff [edit ]

As of 4 November 2021[61]

Manager history [edit ]

As of 16 November 2021 after the match against  Oman

Players [edit ]

current police squad [edit ]

The follow 27 players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round Group B matches against Vietnam on 11 November and Oman on 16 November 2021. [ 61 ] Caps and goals as of 16 November 2021, after the match against  Oman.
(Players are listed within position group by order of seniority, kit number, caps, goals, and then alphabetically)

recent call-ups [edit ]

The following players have been called up to the team in the last 12 months .
(Players are listed within position group by order of latest call-up, seniority, caps, goals, and then alphabetically)

previous squads [edit ]

*Bold indicates winning squads

individual records [edit ]

actor records [edit ]

As of 16 November 2021[62]

*Players in bold are still active with Japan.

Most capped player [edit ]

Yasuhito Endō is the Japan ‘s most capped player with 152 appearances .

top goalscorers [edit ]

Kunishige Kamamoto is the Japan ‘s top scorer with 75 goals .

captain [edit ]

Makoto Hasebe is the Japan ‘s most long serving captain with 8 years menstruation .

other criminal record [edit ]

Updated 15 June 2021

• Youngest player

Daisuke Ichikawa, 17 year and 322 days old, 1 April 1998 against  South Korea

• Youngest goalscorer

Shinji Kagawa, 19 year and 206 days old, 9 October 2008 against  United Arab Emirates

• Youngest captain

Gen Shoji, 24 year and 363 days old, 9 December 2017 EAFF E-1 Championship

• Oldest player

Eiji Kawashima, 38 year and 87 days old, 15 June 2021 against  Kyrgyzstan

• Oldest goalscorer

Masashi Nakayama, 33 year and 326 days old, 15 August 2001 against  Australia

• Oldest captain

Shigeo Yaegashi, 35 year and 203 days old, 13 October 1968 Summer Olympics

• Most hat-trick

8, Kunishige Kamamoto

• Most goal in one match

6, Kunishige Kamamoto, 27 September 1967 against  Philippines

6, Kazuyoshi Miura, 22 June 1997 against  Macau

• Most goal in calendar year

18, Kazuyoshi Miura, 1997

director records [edit ]

Most manager appearances

Zico: 71

Manager accomplishment [edit ]

team records [edit ]

Updated 23 January 2015 [ 63 ]

competitive read [edit ]

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

*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.

FIFA World Cup [edit ]

FIFA World Cup record

Qualification record

Year

Result

Position

*

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

15
9
5
1
51
12

2002
Round of 16
9th
4
2
1
1
5
3

Qualified as hosts
2006
Group stage
28th
3
0
1
2
2
7

12
11
0
1
25
5

2010
Round of 16
9th
4
2
1
1
4
2

14
8
4
2
23
9

2014
Group stage
29th
3
0
1
2
2
6

14
8
3
3
30
8

2018
Round of 16
15th
4
1
1
2
6
7

18
13
3
2
44
7

2022
To be determined
14
12
0
2
51
5

2026

Total
Round of 16
6/21
21
5
5
11
20
29
120
68
26
26
247
85

Match history [edit ]

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 passing
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

AFC asian Cup [edit ]

AFC Asian Cup record

Qualification record

Year

Result

Position

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

4
2
1
1
6
3

1992
Champions
1st
5
3
2
0
6
3
Qualified as hosts
1996
Quarter-finals
5th
4
3
0
1
7
3

Qualified as champions
2000
Champions
1st
6
5
1
0
21
6

3
3
0
0
15
0

2004
Champions
1st
6
4
2
0
13
6
Qualified as champions
2007
Fourth place
4th
6
2
3
1
11
7

6
5
0
1
15
2

2011
Champions
1st
6
4
2
0
14
6

6
5
0
1
17
4

2015
Quarter-finals
5th
4
3
1
0
8
1

Qualified as champions
2019
Runners-up
2nd
7
6
0
1
12
6

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

Match history [edit ]

CONMEBOL Copa América [edit ]

Japan is the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited to the 1999 Copa América. [ 10 ] Japan was besides invited to the 2011 tournament and initially accepted the invitation. however, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the JFA late withdrew on 16 May 2011, citing the difficulty of releasing some japanese players from european teams to play as replacements. [ 64 ] On the adjacent day, CONMEBOL invited Costa Rica to replace Japan in the contest. On 16 August 2013, CONMEBOL president of the united states Eugenio Figueredo announced that Japan was invited to the 2015 Copa América. [ 65 ] however, Japan by and by declined the invitation due to scheduling problems. [ 66 ] On 14 May 2018, CONMEBOL announced that Japan, aboard Qatar, would be the two invite teams for the 2019 Copa América. [ 67 ]

FIFA Confederations Cup [edit ]

FIFA Confederations Cup record

year

Result

Position

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
–

Match history [edit ]

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

Olympic Games [edit ]

Since 1992, the Olympic team has been drawn from a police squad with a maximum of three players over 23 years long time, and the achievements of this team are not by and large regarded as contribution of the national team ‘s records, nor are the statistics credited to the players ‘ international records .

Match history [edit ]

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

asian Games [edit ]

Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.

EAFF E-1 Championship [edit ]

EAFF E-1 Championship record

Year

Result

Position

2003
Runners-up
2nd
3
2
0
1
3
0
2005
Runners-up
2nd
3
1
1
1
3
3
2008
Runners-up
2nd
3
1
2
0
3
2
2010
Third Place
3rd
3
1
1
1
4
3
2013
Champions
1st
3
2
1
0
8
6
2015

4th Place
4th
3
0
2
1
3
4

2017
Runners-up
2nd
3
2
0
1
4
5
2019
Runners-up
2nd
3
2
0
1
7
2

Total

Champions

8/8
24
11
7
6
35
25

Match history [edit ]

neck and neck record [edit ]

The following table shows Japan ‘s all-time international record, correct as of 16 November 2021 .

Confederation

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

AFC
509
270
104
135
1,001
543
+458

CAF
36
21
7
8
56
35
+21

CONCACAF
29
17
5
7
63
32
+31

CONMEBOL
63
16
18
29
63
105
–42

OFC
6
3
0
3
10
8
+2

UEFA
113
35
23
55
138
186
–48

Total
752
360
156
236
1,330
904
+426

AFC [edit ]

As of 16 November [ 68 ]

CAF [edit ]

As of 13 October 2020 [ 68 ]

Opponent

From

To

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

 Angola
2005
2005
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1

 Cameroon
2001
2020
5
3
2
0
5
0
+5

 Egypt
1998
2007
2
2
0
0
5
1
+4

 Ghana
1964
2018
7
4
0
3
14
13
+1

 Ivory Coast
1993
2020
5
3
0
2
4
4
0

 Mali
2018
2018
1
0
1
0
1
1
0

 Nigeria
1968
2003
4
2
1
1
8
6
+2

 Senegal
1987
2018
4
0
2
2
4
7
−3

 South Africa
2009
2009
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Togo
2009
2009
1
1
0
0
5
0
+5

 Tunisia
1996
2015
4
4
0
0
6
0
+6

 Zambia
2014
2014
1
1
0
0
4
3
+1

Total

1964
2020
36
21
7
8
57
35
+22

CONCACAF [edit ]

As of 14 November 2020 [ 68 ]

Opponent

From

To

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

 Canada
2001
2013
2
2
0
0
5
1
+4

 Costa Rica
1995
2018
4
3
1
0
10
2
+8

 El Salvador
2019
2019
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

 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

 Jamaica
1998
2014
4
2
1
1
7
3
+4

 Mexico
1996
2013
5
1
0
4
6
9
−3

 Panama
2018
2020
2
2
0
0
4
0
+4

 Trinidad and Tobago
2006
2019
2
1
1
0
2
0
+2

 United States
1993
2006
2
1
0
1
5
4
+1

Total

1993
2020
28
17
5
6
63
30
+33

CONMEBOL [edit ]

As of 19 November 2019 [ 68 ]

Opponent

From

To

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

 Argentina
1992
2010
7
1
0
6
4
15
−11

 Bolivia
1999
2019
3
2
1
0
4
1
+3

 Brazil
1989
2017
12
0
2
10
5
34
−29

 Chile
2008
2019
3
1
1
1
4
4
0

 Colombia
2003
2019
5
1
1
3
3
7
−4

 Ecuador
1995
2019
3
2
1
0
5
1
+4

 Paraguay
1995
2019
10
4
4
2
11
9
+2

 Peru
1967
2011
7
2
3
2
4
5
−1

 Uruguay
1985
2019
7
2
2
4
17
23
−6

 Venezuela
2010
2019
5
1
3
1
6
6
0

Total

1967
2019
63
16
18
29
63
105
−42

OFC [edit ]

As of 6 October 2017 [ 68 ]

Opponent

From

To

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

 New Zealand
1981
2017
6
3
0
3
10
8
+2

Total

1981
2017
6
3
0
3
10
8
+2

UEFA [edit ]

As of 11 June 2021 [ 68 ]

Opponent

From

To

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

 Austria
2007
2007
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Azerbaijan
2012
2012
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

 Belarus
2013
2013
1
0
0
1
0
1
−1

 Belgium
1999
2018
6
2
2
2
11
8
+3

 Bosnia and Herzegovina
2006
2016
3
1
1
1
6
4
+2

 Bulgaria
1976
2016
6
1
1
4
10
13
−3

 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

 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

 Greece
2005
2014
2
1
1
0
1
0
+1

 Hungary
1993
2004
2
0
0
2
2
4
−2

 Iceland
1971
2012
3
3
0
0
8
3
+5

 Israel
1973
1977
7
0
0
7
2
17
−15

 Italy
1936
2013
3
0
1
2
4
13
−9

 Kazakhstan
1997
2005
3
2
1
0
10
2
+8

 Latvia
2005
2013
2
1
1
0
5
2
+3

 Malta
2006
2006
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1

 Montenegro
2007
2007
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

 Netherlands
2009
2013
3
0
1
2
2
6
−4

 Norway
2002
2002
1
0
0
1
0
3
−3

 Poland
1981
2018
7
2
0
5
10
14
−4

 Romania
1974
2003
4
0
1
3
3
12
−9

 Russia
1978

2002
4
1
0
3
3
11
−8

 Scotland
1995
2009
3
1
2
0
2
0
+2

 Serbia
1961
2021
10
4
0
6
7
20
−13

 Slovakia
2000
2004
3
2
1
0
5
2
+3

 Spain
2001
2001
1
0
0
1
0
1
−1

 Sweden
1936
2002
5
1
3
1
7
7
0

  Switzerland
2007
2018
2
1
0
1
4
5
−1

 Turkey
1997
2002
2
1
0
1
1
1
0

 Ukraine
2002
2018
3
1
0
2
2
3
−1

 Wales
1992
1992
1
0
0
1
0
1
−1

Total

1936
2018
112
34
23
55
137
186
−49

FIFA world rankings [edit ]

As of 23 April 2021[69]

Best Ranking Best Mover Worst Ranking Worst Mover
Japan ‘s FIFA world rankings

Rank

Year

Games
Played

Won

Lost

Drawn

Best

Worst

Rank

Move

Rank

Move

28
2021
6
6
0
0

27
0
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

Honours [edit ]

intercontinental [edit ]

Continental [edit ]

Third place: 1951, 1966

Fourth place: 1970

regional [edit ]

Champions: 1930

• EAFF E-1 Football Championship
  • East Asian Football Championship (2003-2010), EAFF East Asian Cup (2013-2015)

Others [edit ]

Champions: 1993, 2007

Champions: 2001

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

Awards [edit ]

Years: 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011

Years: 2002

See besides [edit ]

National teams

Men’s

Women’s

Notes [edit ]

1. ^[60] The match between Mongolia and Japan will be played in Chiba, Japan .

References [edit ]

reservoir : https://www.jorihulkkonen.com
category : ฟุตบอล