They then faced Iraq and Jordan in their next group matches, which they won 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. [31], Japan participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and had an almost successful tournament. To qualify for the second round, they needed a victory against Colombia and needed Greece to beat Ivory Coast. They qualified to knockout stage as Group D winner with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. Elo Score: ... 2019 in Japan – Friendly: L: November 19th, 2019 in Japan: Japan. After a 1–1 draw with Australia they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation (outside of Brazil, who hosted the tournament and qualified automatically) to qualify.   Draw In the early 1980s, the kit was white with blue trim. However, soon after the war, football in Japan resumed. 1956:  South Korea The current head coach is Vahid Halilhodžić. Japan was not a major football force until the end of the 1980s, with its team small and amateur, but since the 1990s, when Japanese football became fully professionalized, Japan has quickly emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia, having qualified for the last six consecutive FIFA World Cups with second round advancements in 2002, 2010, and 2018, and having won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. 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". 1980:  Kuwait 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 squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Kojima • 2 Narahashi • 3 Soma • 4 Ihara • 5 Omura • 6 Yamaguchi • 7 Ito • 8 Nakata • 9 Nakayama • 10 Nanami • 11 Ono • 12 Lopes • 13 Hattori • 14 Okano • 15 Morishima • 16 Saito • 17 Akita • 18 Jo • 19 Nakanishi • 20 Kawaguchi • 21 Narazaki • 22 Hirano • Coach: Okada For the women's team, see, Men's national association football team representing Japan. The Japanese college team won the game. [44] When Japan was coached by Kenzo Yokoyama (1988–1992) the kits were red and white, matching the colours of Japan's national flag. The late 1980s saw concrete moves to professionalize the sport in Japan. The road to Brazil looked bright as Japan managed a 2–2 draw with the Netherlands and a 2–3 victory over Belgium. They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 3–4 in a hard-fought match but received praise for their style of play in the match. Bold players are still active. 2011:  Japan, This article is about the men's team. Japan used blue shirts in a 3–2 victory over Sweden in the first game of its maiden major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics. In the first knockout round, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay, but received praises for its outstanding performances. The 2004 AFC Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title, though its journey had been more troubling. It will be shown here … Kantoh Collegiate American Football Association, Tohoku Collegiate American Football Association, Chushikoku Collegiate American Football Association, Hokuriku Collegiate American Football League, Kansai Collegiate American Football League, KyÅ«shÅ« Collegiate American Football Association, Tokai Collegiate American Football Association, The X League: Professional football in Japan, http://www.seagulls.jp/recruitment/x_league.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_football_in_Japan&oldid=1002061435, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 17:27. During World War II (1939–1945), American football in Japan came to a halt. Each team is only allowed to have 3 Americans per team. We’re still waiting for Japan opponent in next match. On 16 August 2013, CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo announced that Japan was invited to the 2015 Copa América. One month later, in the EAFF East Asian Cup, they started out with a 3–3 draw to China. France. 1960:  South Korea Japan's incredible transformation from an amateur football team to become a fully professional and Asian powerhouse in just a short amount of time has served as an inspiration and example of how to develop football.[6][7]. This was Japan's third time having reached the last 16, equaling their best result at a World Cup. They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up 5 wins and 2 draws. 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 international football and is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Cook Islands. [41] Recently, the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue", while Japanese news media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup still referred it to by the recently departed manager's (Akira Nishino) last name, as "Nishino Japan" (西野ジャパン, Nishino Japan).[42][43]. [10] Its last prewar match for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940.[13]. [8] Japan was also invited to the 2011 tournament and initially accepted the invitation. American Football International is part of the worldwide movement to build, share, and establish American Football as a global sport with a global community. American football is a sport played in Japan. The Division I of the Kanto League has two Conferences (A and B). [15] Nonetheless, Japan had come close to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost to South Korea in the deciding matches. 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. Updated to 14 November 2020[57], Last update was on 25 October 2018. ", "Australia 0 Japan 1 (aet): match report", "Japan make history with World Cup win against 10-man Colombia", "Japan and Senegal Control World Cup Fates After Draw", "Japan Advances in World Cup 2018 Despite Losing to Poland", "Lucky Japan qualify for knockout stages through Fifa's fair play rules despite losing 1-0 to Poland", "World Cup 2018: Japan go through but final group game ends in 'mind-boggling farce, "Japan 0-1 Poland: World Cup 2018 – as it happened", "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ - FIFA.com", "World Cup 2018: Belgium stun Japan to reach quarters", "A two-goal comeback after 48 years, and a new high for AFC", "England finish fourth at World Cup after Eden Hazard seals Belgium win", https://dailyfootballshow.com/talking-points-belgium-3-japan-2-blue-samurai-heartbreak-after-a-miracle-comeback/, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/01/d5913d4da0ef-soccer-japan-come-back-to-beat-turkmenistan-3-2-in-asian-cup-opener.html, https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/oman-0-japan-1-controversial-haraguchi-penalty-seals-progress, https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/qatar-japan-advance-in-asian-cup-with-perfect-record-011719, https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/asian-cup-japan-tops-saudi-arabia-australia-wins-shootout-012119, https://baokhanhhoa.vn/english/sports/201901/afc-asian-cup-quarter-finals-vietnam-0-1-japan-8103948/, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47092164, "Alexis Sánchez scores first goal since January as Chile beat Japan", https://www.apnews.com/45d46d5605f148c8804e8755b5d48fc0, https://www.foxsportsasia.com/football/copa-america/1125799/ecuador-1-japan-1-draw-sees-both-nations-exit-copa-america/, "Why does Japan wear blue soccer uniforms? [39] Japan needed a win against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to inferior goal differences to Paraguay. JFA introduced a Special Licensed Player system in 1986, allowing a limited number of professional players to compete in the domestic semi-professional league. The shield has a metallic gold trim and has a thicker black outline. Today, more than 17,000 players participate in a national competition for about 400 teams. 1984:  Saudi Arabia In the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Japan temporarily switched the colour of the numbers from white to gold. Members of Nihon University's American football team pose after winning the Koshien Bowl, an annual college football national championship game, in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan… Introduced in the 1930s, the sport has grown into one of the most popular in the country. [51] 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. Competitions: Players Records: Team Records: Managers: The X-League is the highest level of football in Japan. The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men’s national association football teams organized by FIFA. Both countries have made themselves unrivalled in both Asian Cup and World Cup records, being the two most successful Asian countries, and have hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup in a joint bid. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. 1988:  Saudi Arabia However, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the JFA later withdrew on 16 May 2011, citing the difficulty of releasing some Japanese players from European teams to play as replacements. Rusch, who had earlier left Japan for the war, returned in 1945. To date, 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. A common methodology of nickname creation is done by taking the last name of incumbent head coach followed by "Japan". While Korea was under Japanese rule, several Koreans played in international competition for Japan, including Kim Yong-sik (1936–40), Kim Sung-gan (1940) and Lee Yoo-hyung (1940). [10] Shigeyoshi Suzuki coached the national team to its first Olympic appearance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. "Number of fans of the Japan national football team from 2010 to 2019 (in millions)." The Super Bowl is a game of American football that is played annually to determine which team will emerge as the champion in the National Football League's (NFL). [50] 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. However, they lost their following match to Brazil 4–0, with Neymar scoring all four goals. Their second match ended in a draw against Senegal, with one goal scored by Takashi Inui and the other by Keisuke Honda. The champions of the two leagues battle for the college championship in the Koshien Bowl. 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 following players have been called up to the Japan squad in the last 12 months. Last 5 Matches. U23 Included in the U-23 National Team. During Japan's first World Cup appearance in 1996 Asian Cup and in 1998, 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). 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