The name of the country represented by the national team "Japan" is also inscribed within the black border.
Action committees were held in 1988 and 1989 to discuss the introduction of a full professional league in Japan.[15].
[35], Japan participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and had an almost successful tournament. Ranked 23rd by FIFA, they qualified for the 8th consecutive year, and were one of eight teams in Pot 3. Japan also has a long-standing rivalry with China, mainly due to historical tensions between the two countries in the past and in the present. Now it has been announced that 26-player squads will return for the Qatar World Cup, an expansion from the usual 23-man teams. [52] 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. [62] Muto was initially called-up for the squad, but got replaced by Iwasaki after picking-up an injury. Japan remains the only team from the AFC other than Australia and Saudi Arabia to have reached the final of a senior FIFA men's competition. However, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16, losing to Australia 13, drawing Croatia 00 and losing to Brazil 14. The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past. Japan's elimination marked their worst performance in the tournament in 19 years.
Maya is a 33-year-old player who features for Serie A side Sampdoria. 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. [10] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s. They fell in their first match to Ivory Coast 21 despite initially taking the lead, allowing two goals in a two-minute span. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Japan's next tournament was a defence of their continental title at the 1996 Asian Cup. Shinji Kagawa, known for his agility on the pitch, is currently a member of the Belgian club Sint Truiden VV. [11], Japan's first "true" national team (as opposed to a university team chosen to represent the country) was fielded at the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, and drew with China for the championship title.
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 Manchester City forward has often been on the bench, but he has recently stolen headlines for his great run of form. 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. [65] On the next day, CONMEBOL invited Costa Rica to replace Japan in the competition. [38] The team, however, got criticized for its defensive approach (as the offensive approach lead to a regretful scenario against Belgium during the World Cup 2018), as Japan won the group with only one goal margin wins in all three matches and two later knockout stage's matches as Japan only beat fellow powerhouse Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals both with 10 margin.
Both countries have made themselves unrivalled 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 bid. The following players have been called up to the squad in the last 12 months.
After a 22 draw with Belgium in their opening match, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 10 win over Russia and a 20 victory against Tunisia. Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place.
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. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach after the World Cup. Most of them play in Chinese and Russian football leagues.
Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 30 loss to Brazil. The shield has a metallic gold trim and has a thicker black outline. Japan's progression in a short period has served as an inspiration and example of how to develop football. The team has also finished second in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. In the 2018 World Cup, they became the first-ever Asian nation to beat a side from South America after they won 21 against Colombia in the group stage. The following is a brief profile summary of the electric squad: Joel Matip's height, wife, contract, Instagram, salary, net worth in 2022, and more. The team made it to the Round of 16 (the first knock-out round) but lost to Belgium, 32. Please refresh the page and try again. Since the 1990s, when Japanese football became fully professionalized, Japan has emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia; they have qualified for the last seven FIFA World Cups with advancements from the group stages in 2002, 2010, and 2018, (the most of any Asian team) and won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. [57] 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. They lost their final match 12 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A. Thank you for signing up to Four Four Two. The team has often been successful in continental competitions and hence their rank. [13], After World War II began in earnest, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies. Genki Haraguchi and Gaku Shibasaki can also be pretty confident of earning a place on the plane, while the veteran defensive duo Yuto Nagatomo and Maya Yoshida will be vital figures for Hajime Moriyasu's side. In December, Japan participated in the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship hosted in South Korea. The Japanese football team is nicknamed the Samurai Blue. Coach Moriyasu summoned a young and inexperienced squad for the competition. [30][31] This unfortunate scenario was due to the naivety of the Nipponese,[32][33][34] who were very offensive and did not fall back enough in defense once the two-goal lead was acquired (unlike France, eventual champion, in the semifinals who played low block against these same Belgians with success), leaving a lot of space to the Belgians, who also took advantage of their physical and athletic superiority to turn the game around. Aguirre would begin a strong revamp of the team, switching out Zaccheroni's long-used 4231 formation for his own 433 and applied this with a roster of the J.League's finest, dropping many regulars. In addition, they will look to learn from their Round of 16 loss in the previous World Cup (2018). 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. JFA introduced a Special Licensed Player system in 1986, allowing a limited number of professional players to compete in the domestic semi-professional league. [14] Japan re-joined FIFA in 1950 and played in qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but lost the AFC qualifying berth to South Korea after two matches, beginning an intense rivalry. While Korea was under Japanese rule, multiple Koreans played in international competition for Japan, including Kim Yong-sik (193640), Kim Sung-gan (1940) and Lee Yoo-hyung (1940). 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. They then beat Australia 32 and beat South Korea 21 in the third and final match in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup to claim the title. The current skipper of the Asian football team is Maya Yoshida. The Japanese football team uses several social media platforms to share the squad's affairs with the general public. The Japan national football team (Japanese: , Hepburn: Sakk Nihon Daihy), nicknamed the Samurai Blue (, Samurai Bur),[1][2] represents Japan in men's international football and it is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Fixture, The following 26 players were called up for the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, held in July 2022. [24][25][26] The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijn, in which a similar game was played. [15] Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. 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,[49] and then in a 32 victory over Sweden in the first game of its maiden major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics. 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. [29] Japan's defeat to eventual third-place finishers 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 23 in extra-time in the quarter-final of the 1970 edition. The mascots are "Karappe" () and "Karara" (), two Yatagarasu wearing the Japan national football team kit.
In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (21) and Paraguay (10), as well as one of their best ever results, a 10 victory over Argentina. Japan plays its home matches among various stadiums, in rotation, around the country. The following are the significant trophies that the Japan national football squad has been able to bag in their history: South Korea national football team's players, coach, FIFA world rankings, World Cup in 2022, trophies and more. Japan were invited to the 2019 Copa America, their second appearance at the tournament, and brought a young squad to the competition. Japan impressed in all three games, however, with all three defeats were just one goal margin.
However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodi on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup finals, citing reasons of a breakdown in relationship between coach and player, and poor 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 new manager. The Japanese players will look to make waves in the coming Qatar World Cup.