The Japan national football team (サッカー日本代表, Sakkā Nihon Daihyō or Sakkā Nippon Daihyō), also known by the nickname Samurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー, Samurai Burū),[1][2] represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.
Until the end of the 1980s, Japan was a small and amateur team. For a long time, football was less popular than baseball and sumo.[10][11] Since the early 1990s, when Japanese football became fully professionalized, Japan has emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia; they have qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 1998 (including an automatic berth in 2002 as co-hosts with South Korea) with knockout stage appearances that year, and in 2010, 2018 and 2022. They have won the Asian Cup a record four times, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. The team also finished runners-up in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 Asian Cup. Japan is one of three teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to have reached the final of a senior FIFA men's competition, the others being Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Japan's progression in a short period has served as an inspiration and example of how to develop football.[12][13] Their principal continental rivals are South Korea and, most recently, Australia; they also developed rivalries against Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Japan was the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in the 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2019 editions of the tournament, although they only played in the 1999 and 2019 events.[14]
As of October 2024, Japan is the highest-ranked AFC team at 15th, and has been since December 2022.[15]
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 strong showings in swimming, baseball, and track and field, its football team suffered resounding defeats to the Republic of China and the Philippines.[16] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s.[17] The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921,[18] and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929.[17]
After World War II began, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies.[17] Its last prewar match for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940.[20] While Korea was under Japanese rule, multiple Koreans played in international competition for Japan, including Kim Yong-sik (1936–40), Kim Sung-gan (1940) and Lee Yoo-hyung (1940).
Dettmar Cramer joined the Japan national team as coach in 1960, and helped lead the team to the round of eight at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[21] Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. Although this result earned the sport increased recognition in Japan, the absence of a professional domestic league hindered its growth and Japan would not qualify for the World Cup until 30 years later.[22] Nonetheless, Japan were close to qualifying for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost to South Korea in the deciding matches.
Japan made its first 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 sport in Japan. JFA introduced a Special Licensed Player system in 1986, allowing a limited number of professional players to compete in the domestic semi-professional league. Action committees were held in 1988 and 1989 to discuss the introduction of a full professional league in Japan.[21]
In the 1990s, the Japan Football Association began the professionalization of its national football team. In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professional J.League, partly to raise the sport's profile and to strengthen the national team program. The following year, Japan hosted the 1992 Asian Cup and won their first title by defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final.[23] The J.League was officially launched in 1993.[24]
However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 World Cup after drawing with Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the "Agony of Doha".[25] Japan's next tournament was a defence of their continental title 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.[26]
The nation's first ever World Cup appearance was in 1998, where Japan lost all their games. The first two fixtures went 1–0 in favour of Argentina and Croatia, and the campaign ended with a 2–1 defeat to Jamaica. Japan impressed, however, as all three defeats were only by a one goal margin.[27]
2000s: Two Asian Cup titles, World Cup co-hosts
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.[28]
Two years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a 2–2 draw with Belgium in their opening 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 in extra time.[29]
With the 2004 Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title by winning their group after two victories over Thailand and Oman, before achieving victories against Jordan and Bahrain. They defeated the hosts in the final 3–1.[30]
On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. However, Japan failed to advance to the round of 16, losing to future AFC rival Australia 3–1, drawing Croatia 0–0 and falling to Brazil 4–1.[31]
The 2007 AFC Asian Cup saw Japan fail to defend its title. Although easily winning the group over Vietnam, Qatar and the UAE, the Japanese were totally exhausted in their game against Australia, where Japan won only by a penalty shootout. Japan lost to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals,[32] before failing in the third-place match against South Korea.
2010s
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 drawn in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon.[33] Japan started with a 1–0 win against Cameroon,[34] before subsequently losing to the Netherlands 1–0.[35] Then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay.[36] In the round of 16, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.[37]
After the World Cup, head coach Takeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by former Juventus and Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (2–1) and Paraguay (1–0), as well as a 1–0 victory over Argentina.
Japan participated in the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in the final after extra time, their fourth Asian Cup triumph and allowing them to qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[38] The country then started their road to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Throughout, they suffered only two losses to Uzbekistan and Jordan, and drew against Australia. After a 1–1 draw with Australia, they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation aside from the hosts to qualify.[39]
Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil.[40] They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 4–3.[41] They lost their final match 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A.[42] One month later, 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 tournament to claim the title.[43]
Japan was placed into Group C at the 2014 World Cup alongside the Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia. They fell in their first match to Ivory Coast 2–1 after initially taking the lead, allowing two goals in a two-minute span. They drew their second game to Greece 0–0. To qualify for the second round, they needed a victory against Colombia and Greece to win against Ivory Coast. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2–1, but Colombia won 4–1, eliminating Japan from the World Cup.[44] Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach.[45] In July 2014, former Mexico and Espanyol manager Javier Aguirre took over,[46] and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the first game he managed.
Japan won its opening 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 and Maya Yoshida. Okazaki was named man of the match. They then faced Iraq and Jordan in their next group matches, which they won 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. They qualified to the knockout stage as Group D winners with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Japan lost to the UAE in a penalty shootout 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.[47]
After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure.[48] He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015.[49] Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to the UAE 1–2 at home.[50] They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up five wins and two draws. On 31 August 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2–0 at home, thus qualifying them for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making it their sixth successive World Cup.[51] However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup, citing reasons of a breakdown in relationship between the coach and players, and poor recent friendly results, and appoint the Technical Director, Japanese coach Akira Nishino as the new manager.[52]
Japan made history in the 2018 World Cup by defeating Colombia 2–1, their first ever victory by any AFC team against a CONMEBOL team in an official tournament,[53] as well as Japan's first ever victory at the World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their second match against Senegal ended in a draw with goals from Takashi Inui and Keisuke Honda.[54] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 1–0,[55] leaving Japan and Senegal tied for second with an identical record; 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 so.[56] The match with Poland caused controversy, as Japan were made aware of their advantage over Senegal with ten minutes left and decided to play an extremely conservative game with no attempts to take a shot on goal, despite losing 1–0, with some fans booing the players.[57][58][59] The match received comparison to the 1982 World CupDisgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played.[60] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage.[61]
In the round of 16 against Belgium, Japan took a 2–0 lead with a goal in the 48th minute by Genki Haraguchi and another in the 52nd by Takashi Inui, but yielded three goals afterwards, including the winner by Nacer Chadli on the counterattack in the 94th minute. The defeat to Belgium was the first time a nation had lost a knockout match at the World Cup after taking a two-goal advantage since England lost to West Germany 3–2 in extra-time in the quarter-final of the 1970 edition.[62][63] Despite losing a 2–0 lead, Japan's impressive performance was praised by fans, pundits and the media.[64]
Japan participated in the 2019 Asian Cup, finishing on top of group F after defeating Turkmenistan 3–2,[65]Oman 1–0[66] and Uzbekistan 2–1.[67] Japan defeated Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals by a 1–0 margin.[68][69] After defeating Iran 3–0 to reach the final,[70] Japan's hope to win their fifth Asian Cup was lost with the team suffering a 3–1 defeat to Qatar, who won the Asian Cup for the first time.[71]
Japan were invited to the 2019 Copa America, their second appearance at the tournament, and brought a young squad to the competition. They were placed in Group C with Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. The nation lost their opening match 4–0 to Chile,[72] before bouncing back and drawing against Uruguay 2–2.[73] Japan needed a win against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to inferior goal difference to Paraguay.[74] Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home.
2020s
After China was removed as host of the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, it was announced that Japan was the new host. After topping the table with two wins and one draw, Japan won the competition for the second time in their history.[75]
Japan qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and were drawn into Group E with Germany, Costa Rica and Spain. On 23 November, Japan produced an upset, beating Germany 2–1, with two goals in an eight-minute span during the second half.[76] After losing to Costa Rica 1–0,[77] going into the final matchday, every team in Group E could qualify or be eliminated, with no team assured of any placement. In the end, Japan managed to qualify for the round of 16 by defeating Spain 2–1 in their final group stage match, while also contributing to Germany's elimination from the tournament.[78] By topping their group, Japan went on to face Croatia[79] in the round of 16 where they would lose 3–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[80] It was the third team in 52 years to have come from behind twice in one tournament, following Brazil and (West) Germany.[81] They beat Spain with the lowest possession (18%) of the ball ever for a winning side since the 1966 World Cup.[82][83] It also was the first time that an Asian team topped their World Cup group held outside their home country, and also the first Asian team to reach the knockouts twice in a row.[84]
Japan were considered the favourites for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar,[85] but disappointed; Hajime Moriyasu's men began the tournament with an unconvincing victory over a Vietnamese side deprived of a number of key players (4–2),[86] before going on to play a nightmarish game against Iraq (a 2–1 loss). This defeat, Japan's first in the group stage since their first appearance in 1988, condemned them to finish second in the group due to their unfavourable head-to-head record. The Japanese sealed three points after overcoming Indonesia 3–1[87] and then eliminated Bahrain by the same scoreline in the round of 16.[88] Japan met Iran in the quarter-finals for a rematch of the previous edition's semi-final, and got the game off to a perfect start with Hidemasa Morita's 28th-minute opener, before falling completely flat in the second half, succumbing to Iran's fiery attacks, 2–1.[89] The country suffered two defeats at the Asian Cup for the first time since their debut in 1988, while conceding at least one goal in every match.[90][91][92] The squad also had to contend with an extra controversy, with the sudden departure of Junya Itō shortly before the match against Iran, due to the Stade de Reims player having been accused of sexual assault.[93]
Team image
Nicknames
Japan's national football team is nicknamed the Samurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー, Samurai Burū) by the JFA.[1][2] The team also is often known by the last name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン, Okada Japan),[a] or during the 2022 World Cup, the team is referred by the current manager's (Hajime Moriyasu) name, as "Moriyasu Japan" (森保ジャパン, Moriyasu Japan).[94][95]
The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past.[96] In the early 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 red diamonds. During the 1996 Asian Cup and the 1998 World Cup, the national team kits were blue jerseys with red and white flame designs on the sleeves, and were designed by JFA (with the sponsor 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 white rather than red 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,[97] and then in a match against Sweden in the 1936 Summer Olympics.[98] Between 1988 and 1992, the kits were red and white, matching the colours of Japan's national flag. After failing to qualify for the 1990 World Cup and 1992 Summer Olympics, the red shirt was scrapped.
In the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup, Japan temporarily switched the colour of the numbers from white to gold.
Japan's kit is provided by German company Adidas, the team's exclusive kit supplier since April 1999.[99] Before that, Asics and Puma had been the team's official apparel sponsor.
On 3 June 2021, Japan released the special 100th anniversary kit for a friendly match against Jamaica, but the match was cancelled and replaced with a match against the U-24 team. The kit was also used by the U-24 team against U-24 Ghana on 5 June 2021.
The crest or emblem of the national team was adopted in late 2017 as part of a larger rebranding by the Japan Football Association.[100] The crest features the Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow from Japanese mythology that is a symbol for the sun, holding a solid red ball that is like the sun from national flag. The text "JFA" (for the Japan Football Association) is inscribed at the bottom of the crow. A red stripe is also present at the center of the shield behind the crow. The shield has a metallic gold trim and has a thicker black outline. The name of the country represented by the national team "Japan" is also inscribed within the black border.[101][102]
The previous crest used from 1996 had a shield with a more complex shape. The ball held by the Yatagarasu had white details. The text "Japan" is absent and "JFA" is written in a different typeface.[101]
Before 1988, Japan used the national flag outlined in red (and with JFA written in black on the lower left corner of the flag) on the shirts.
The Yatagarasu was first seen on the Japan shirts in 1988, where it was on a yellow circle with a blue outline with "JAPAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION" written around it. In 1991, the emblem changed to a white shield with a red vertical stripe on the center with the crow on it and "JFA" written in a green Gothic typeface. This crest was used until 1996.
Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea. The rivalry is long-seated and is often seen as an extension of an overall historic rivalry between the two nations. Japan have met South Korea 80 times, trailing the statistic at 15 wins, 23 draws, and 42 losses, while scoring 73 goals and conceding 153. Both countries have made themselves unrivalled in both Asian Cup and World Cup records, being two of the most successful Asian football teams, and they hosted the 2002 World Cup in a joint bid.
North Korea
Japan also maintains a significant rivalry with North Korea, although the rivalry is infrequent due to political circumstances.[103] Like the rivalry against South Korea, the rivalry against North Korea is another extension of historical feud between Japan and Korea. They have met each other 20 times, with the head-to-head record being equal with 8 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses.
China
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Japan began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouse Australia, shortly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation.[105] The rivalry is regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries.[106] The rivalry is a relatively recent one, born from a number of highly competitive matches between the two teams since Australia joined the AFC in 2006.[107] The rivalry began at the 2006 World Cup where the two countries were grouped together, and continued with the two countries meeting regularly in various AFC competitions, such as the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final and the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup.[108]
Japan have met Australia 27 times, with a record of 11 wins, 9 draws and 7 losses.
Saudi Arabia
Japan and Saudi Arabia are two of the most historically successful national teams in Asia and have frequently met each other in many major tournaments, including in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualification.[109] The frequency is also rivalled by high-level performances of Japan and Saudi Arabia in the Asian and global football stage, as they are two of the three AFC members (alongside Australia) to reach the final of any senior FIFA competition. Both countries also gained headlines for producing "unexpected" wins in the 2022 World Cup, with Japan earning wins against Germany and Spain and Saudi Arabia against eventual champions Argentina in the group stage. These wins over World Cup-winning oppositions have allowed comparisons of developments between Japan and Saudi Arabia to emerge.[110][111]
In the head-to-head record, Japan have an advantage over the Saudis with 10 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses.[112]
Japan and Iran have a combined seven Asian Cup titles, with a rivalry developing in the 1990s due to the famous "Joy of Johor Bahru" (ジョホール・バルの歓喜, Johōru Baru no kanki) that gave Japan a ticket to their first World Cup defeating the Persians by 3–2 in a neutral Asian play-off hosted in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
More recently, the two countries met in the 2019 and 2023 Asian Cups. The Samurai Blue defeated Team Melli 3–0 in the semifinals of the 2019 edition. The Iranians got revenge four years later eliminating Japan 2–1 in the quarter-finals.
Supporters
Fans waving national flags in support of the Japanese national team
Japanese national team supporters are known for chanting "Nippon Ole" (Nippon is the Japanese word for Japan) at home matches.[113]
Sponsorship
Japan has one of the highest sponsorship incomes for a national squad. In 2006 their sponsorship income amounted to over 16.5 million pounds.[citation needed]
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 is launched, the mascots' uniforms are updated in order to match the kit being used by the team.
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.
*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.
Japan was the first team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited to the 1999 tournament.[14] Japan was also invited in 2011 and initially accepted the invitation. However, following the Tōhoku earthquake, the JFA later withdrew on 16 May 2011, citing the difficulty of releasing some Japanese players from European teams to play as replacements.[127] On the next day, CONMEBOL invited Costa Rica to replace Japan in the competition.
On 16 August 2013, CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo announced that Japan was invited to the 2015 Copa América.[128] However, Japan later declined the invitation due to scheduling problems.[129]
On 14 May 2018, CONMEBOL announced that Japan, alongside Qatar, would be the two invited teams for the 2019 Copa América.[130]
^A common methodology of nickname creation is done by taking the last name of incumbent head coach followed by "Japan". Past teams have been referred to as, "Osim Japan" (オシムジャパン, Oshimu Japan), "Zico Japan" (ジーコジャパン, Jīko Japan), "Troussier Japan" (トルシエジャパン, Torushie Japan)
^North Korea were originally scheduled to play host to Japan in Kim Il-sung Stadium. However, North Korea then decided against hosting it due to "a malignant infectious disease" spreading in Japan.[118] Due to the time gap and North Korea's inability to provide an alternative venue, FIFA subsequently decided that the match shall neither be played nor rescheduled, and the matter will be decided by FIFA Disciplinary Committee.[119] It was later announced that Japan would be awarded a 3–0 victory by forfeit.[120]
^ ab"SAMURAI BLUE（日本代表）監督 森保一氏と契約合意" [Contract agreement with SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) manager Hajime Moriyasu]. Japan Football Association (JFA) (in Japanese). Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. 28 December 2022.
^"Flashback: AFC Asian Cup 2007". the-AFC. Retrieved 13 May 2023. It was east v west in the semi-finals, with historic rivals Japan and Saudi Arabia, who had between them split evenly the previous six titles, faced-off. Japan' Takahara failed to add to his four goals while his challenger Al Qahtani put Saudi in front. Yuji Nakazawa and Yuki Abe scored for the Samurai Blue, but it was a Malek Mouath brace that settled the game with a thrilling 3-2 victory for the Green Falcons.
^岡崎、本田がゴール！ ハリルジャパン初陣を勝利で飾る. Football Channel (in Japanese). Kanzen ltd. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
^Sánchez Sandoval, Édgar (2 June 2016). "Copa América: Japón, el invitado más extraño" [Copa América: Japan, the most strange invitee] (in Spanish). Publimetro Chile. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018. Even in 2015, the japanese were asked to be part of the Copa América in Chile, but they withdrew again due to problems with their calendar and previously scheduled matches.
^González, Christian (4 May 2018). "Conmebol confirma a Japón y Qatar en la Copa América de 2019" (in Spanish). La Tercera. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018. CONMEBOL confirmed, via its website, what has been speculated several months ago: Japan and Qatar will be invited at the event that will be held in Brazil.
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