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53-571: Japan national football team played some of their home matches here, including a 3-0 win over Hong Kong in a World Cup qualifier in August 1985. On May 9, 2007 the Japan national rugby union team played the Classic All Blacks here. The result was a win for the latter, 36–25. Other rugby games, including Top League games are sometimes played at the stadium. This article about

106-409: A Vietnamese side deprived of a number of key players (4–2), 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 and then eliminated Bahrain by

159-539: 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 . 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

212-650: A 1–0 win against Cameroon, before subsequently losing to the Netherlands 1–0. Then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay . In the round of 16, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay. 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

265-567: A 1–1 draw with Australia, they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation aside from the hosts to qualify. Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil. They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 4–3. They lost their final match 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A. One month later, in the EAFF East Asian Cup , they started out with

318-495: 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. 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

371-652: 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. The crest features the Yatagarasu , a three-legged crow from Japanese mythology that

424-643: A handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies. Its last prewar match for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940. 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). Japan's postwar debut was in the 1951 Asian Games in India. Japan re-joined FIFA in 1950 and played in qualifiers for

477-510: A one goal margin. 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 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

530-600: A penalty shootout. Japan lost to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals, before failing in the third-place match against South Korea. 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 . Japan started with

583-543: A sports venue in Japan is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Japan national football team 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 ) , represents Japan in men's international football . It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA),

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636-627: 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. Shigeyoshi Suzuki coached the national team to its first Olympic appearance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin . Japan was an entrant for 1938 World Cup qualifying , but withdrew before its scheduled qualifying match against the Dutch East Indies . After World War II began, Japan did not play in international competition, except for

689-471: A win against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to inferior goal difference to Paraguay. Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home. 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

742-550: Is a relatively recent one, born from a number of highly competitive matches between the two teams since Australia joined the AFC in 2006. 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 . 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games The 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games

795-497: 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

848-488: 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, and then in a match against Sweden in the 1936 Summer Olympics . 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 ,

901-408: The 1992 Asian Cup and won their first title by defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final. The J.League was officially launched in 1993. 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 ". Japan's next tournament

954-590: 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. 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

1007-765: 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. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea and, most recently , Australia; they also developed rivalries against Iran and Saudi Arabia. Japan

1060-512: The Saitama Stadium 2002 . 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

1113-538: The 1954 World Cup , but lost the AFC qualifying berth to South Korea after two matches. Japan also joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. 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. Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City , where

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1166-425: 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

1219-425: 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

1272-400: 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 ) . The national team kit design has gone through several alterations in the past. 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

1325-416: 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 plays its home matches among various stadiums, in rotation, around the country, especially

1378-522: The UAE 1–2 at home. 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. However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before

1431-432: 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 . Despite losing a 2–0 lead, Japan's impressive performance was praised by fans, pundits and the media. Japan participated in the 2019 Asian Cup , finishing on top of group F after defeating Turkmenistan 3–2, Oman 1–0 and Uzbekistan 2–1. Japan defeated Saudi Arabia in

1484-538: The World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their second match against Senegal ended in a draw with goals from Takashi Inui and Keisuke Honda. Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 1–0, 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,

1537-492: 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. 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, as well as Japan's first ever victory at

1590-460: The black border. 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. 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

1643-515: The competition for the second time in their history. 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. After losing to Costa Rica 1–0, going into the final matchday, every team in Group E could qualify or be eliminated, with no team assured of any placement. In

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1696-456: 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. By topping their group, Japan went on to face Croatia in the round of 16 where they would lose 3–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. It was the third team in 52 years to have come from behind twice in one tournament, following Brazil and (West) Germany. They beat Spain with

1749-421: The first team to do so. 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. The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón , in which a similar game was played. Japan were

1802-525: The football competition. China was represented in the baseball competition by the Chinese Honolulu team – a group of expatriates based in Hawaii. The games was held one month after the 1930 Chinese National Games . The Chinese performed very poorly at the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, managing only one bronze medal in the athletics programme. This fostered anti-Japanese sentiment among

1855-596: 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 . 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

1908-475: 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

1961-514: The head-to-head record being equal with 8 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses. Japan and China used to have a strong rivalry, with the former defeating the latter 3–1 in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup final . Japan began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouse Australia , shortly after the latter joined the Asian Football Confederation. The rivalry is regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries. The rivalry

2014-421: The introduction of a full professional league in Japan. 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

2067-443: The lowest possession (18%) of the ball ever for a winning side since the 1966 World Cup . 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. Japan were considered the favourites for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, but disappointed; Hajime Moriyasu 's men began the tournament with an unconvincing victory over

2120-402: The most successful Asian football teams, and they hosted the 2002 World Cup in a joint bid. Japan also maintains a significant rivalry with North Korea , although the rivalry is infrequent due to political circumstances. 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

2173-412: The only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage. 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

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2226-549: 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. After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure. He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015. Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to

2279-413: 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. 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

2332-589: The round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals by a 1–0 margin. After defeating Iran 3–0 to reach the final, 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. 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, before bouncing back and drawing against Uruguay 2–2. Japan needed

2385-517: The same scoreline in the round of 16. 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. 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. The squad also had to contend with an extra controversy, with

2438-404: 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. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach. In July 2014, former Mexico and Espanyol manager Javier Aguirre took over, and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the first game he managed. Japan won its opening match at

2491-603: 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 . Japan's national football team is nicknamed the Samurai Blue ( サムライ・ブルー , Samurai Burū ) by the JFA . 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 ) , or during

2544-453: 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. 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

2597-411: The tournament during the round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey in extra time. 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. On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for

2650-469: 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 . 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

2703-632: 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. Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s. The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921, and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929. Japan's first "true" national team (as opposed to

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2756-610: 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. As of October 2024, Japan is the highest-ranked AFC team at 15th, and has been since December 2022. Japan's earliest international matches were at the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games in Tokyo , where it

2809-436: Was the ninth edition of the regional multi-sport event and was held from 24 to 27 May 1930 in Tokyo , Empire of Japan . A total of eight sports were contested over the course of the five-day event. India made its first and only appearance in the tournament's history, becoming the first participant outside of the traditional three nations since the inaugural 1913 Games . The Chinese won their eighth consecutive title in

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