Japan’s Football History :
Popularly known as ‘Soccer Nippon Daihyo’ among its fans and media, Japan’s National Football team represents the country in all international football competitions. Recently the team has acquired the nickname “Samurai Blue”. The team is governed by the Japan Football Association. FIFA participation started in the late 1990s due to the absence of a professional domestic league.
They unfortunately lost all three matches in their first attempt at the FIFA world cup. In the AFC Asian Cup, their participation started from the year 1988 and in FIFA Federations Cup in the year 1992. The Japanese national football team is the only Asian team or the only team outside America to have participated in the Copa America tournament. The team was invited in the year 1999 and 2011.
Japan’s National Football team made its official entry in the 1936 Olympics but the major achievement in international football came in the Summer Olympics of 1968 where it got a bronze medal. It has entered the quarter-finals twice, in 1936 and 1964 respectively. It has also participated and won in other notable regional tournaments like Dynasty Cup (3 times), EAFF East Asian Cup (once), Far Eastern Games (once), Afro-Asian Cup of Nations (twice), AFC-OFC Challenge Cup (once), Kirin Cup (once) and in Japan Professional Sport Grand Price (once).
Japan Success Story :
The Japan National football team is one of the most successful football teams in Asia. Though it hasn’t tasted any significant achievement in the FIFA World Cups but in other tournaments it has delivered a satisfactory performance. In the AFC Asian Cup it emerged as Champions four times in 1992, 2000, 2004, and in 2011. In the FIFA Federations Cup it finished as runner-up in the year 2001. The team has been bestowed with the AFC National team of the year award six times.
In 1998, Japan national football team reached their all time highest FIFA ranking of 9th rank. On their road to the FIFA World Cup 2014 it had competed with several qualifiers. Initially it lost to Uzbekistan and Jordan, but picked up a historic victory against France. After drawing its match with Australia, it confirmed its ticket to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Japan squad |
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| Goalkeepers: | Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege/BEL) Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds) Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo) |
Defenders: | Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka) Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata) Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan/ITA) Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo) Atsuto Uchida (Schalke/GER) Maya Yoshida (Southampton/ENG) Hiroki Sakai (Hannover 96/GER) Gotoku Sakai (Stuttgart/GER) |
| Midfielders: | Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka) Makoto Hasebe (Nuremberg/GER) Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka) Keisuke Honda (AC Milan/ITA) Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United/ENG) |
Forwards: | Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale) Shinji Okazaki (Mainz/GER) Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nurnberg/GER) Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka) Manabu Saito (Yokohama F-Marinos) Yuya Osako (1860 Munich/GER) |
Japan’s performance in all FIFA World Cups : |
| World Cup Year | World Cup Hosting Nation | FIFA Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 | Germany | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | South Korea | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 | Italy | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1966 | England | Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Banned | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1938 | France | Withdrew | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 19 World Cups | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |