JAPAN NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
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The 'Japan national football team' is the national football team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association.
On July 21, 2006, Bosnian Ivica Osim, who previously coached Yugoslavia and most recently JEF United Ichihara Chiba, took over as manager, succeeding Zico, who had coached Japan from 2002 through the end of Japan's 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign.[1]
The team is commonly known by the fans and media as ''Nihon Daihyo'' (日本代表 "Japanese representatives"), ''Daihyo'' (代表 "representatives". The team is known as ''Samurai Blue''.
History
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 FIFA World Cup until 30 years later.[2]
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. With the launch of the new league in 1993, interest in football and the national team grew.
However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 FIFA World Cup after failing to beat Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the Agony of Doha.
The nation's first FIFA World Cup appearance was in 1998, where they lost all three matches. Japan's first two fixtures went 1-0 in favor of Argentina and Croatia, despite playing well in both games. Their campaign ended with an unexpected 2-1 defeat to rank outsiders Jamaica.
Four years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Belgium in their opening game, 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.
On June 8, 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2-0 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16 after finishing group play without a win, losing to Australia 1-3, drawing Croatia 0-0 and losing to Brazil 1-4.
Japan has had considerably more success in the Asian Cup, taking home the winner's trophy in three of the last four finals, in 1992, 2000 and 2004. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Japan is the only team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, being invited in 1999, along with Mexico.
In August 2006, incoming head coach Ivica Osim gave the captaincy to Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, as he felt that the extra responsibilities detracted from former captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto's contributions to his club team.
World Cup record
★ 1930 - Did not enter
★ 1934 - Did not enter
★ 1938 - Withdrew
★ 1950 - Banned
★ 1954 - Did not qualify
★ 1958 - Did not enter
★ 1962 - Did not qualify
★ 1966 - Did not enter
★ 1970 to 1994 - Did not qualify
★ 1998 - Round 1
★ 2002 - Round 2
★ 2006 - Round 1
Asian Cup record
★ 1956 to 1964 - ''Did not enter''
★ 1968 - ''Did not qualify''
★ 1972 - ''Did not enter''
★ 1976 - ''Did not qualify''
★ 1980 - ''Did not enter''
★ 1984 - ''Did not enter''
★ 1988 - Round 1 (student team)
★ 1992 - 'Champion'
★ 1996 - Quarterfinals
★ 2000 - 'Champion'
★ 2004 - 'Champion'
★ 2007 - 4th place
East Asian Cup record
★ 2003 - Second place
★ 2005 - Second place
Top goalscorers
''As of September 8, 2007''
| Pos | Player | Goals | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kunishige Kamamoto | 74 | 1964-1977 |
| 2 | 'Kazuyoshi Miura' | 55 | 1990-2000 |
| 3 | Hiromi Hara | 37 | 1978-1988 |
| 4 | Takuya Takagi | 27 | 1992-1997 |
| 5 | Kazushi Kimura | 26 | 1979-1986 |
| 6 | 'Naohiro Takahara' | 23 | 2000-present |
| 7 | 'Masashi Nakayama' | 21 | 1990-2003 |
| 8 | Teruki Miyamoto | 19 | 1961-1971 |
| 9 | 'Shunsuke Nakamura' | 18 | 2000-present |
| 10 | 'Atsushi Yanagisawa' | 17 | 1998-2006 |
★ The players in bold typeface are still active in football.
Most Capped
''As of September 8, 2007''
| Pos | Player | Caps | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masami Ihara | 122 | 1988-1999 |
| 2 | 'Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi' | 108 | 1997-present |
| 3 | 'Kazuyoshi Miura' | 89 | 1990-2000 |
| 4 | 'Alessandro dos Santos' | 82 | 2002-present |
| 5 | Satoshi Tsunami | 80 | 1980-1995 |
| 6 | Hidetoshi Nakata | 77 | 1997-2006 |
| 7 | Kunishige Kamamoto | 75 | 1964-1977 |
| 7 | Hiromi Hara | 75 | 1978-1988 |
| 9 | Tetsuji Hashiratani | 72 | 1988-1995 |
| 9 | 'Shunsuke Nakamura' | 72 | 2000-present |
★ The players in bold typeface are still active in football.
Current squad
===Latest squad selected (for versus Switzerland/Austria, September 2007)===
Caps and goals as of September 2, 2007.
Recent Call Ups
The following players have also been called up to the Japan squad within the last twelve months.
;Goalkeepers
| Player | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norihiro Yamagishi | 0 | 0 | Urawa Reds | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
| Akihiro Hayashi | 0 | 0 | Ryutsu Keizai University F.C. | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
| Shusaku Nishikawa | 0 | 0 | Oita Trinita | v. Peru, 24 March 2007 |
| Yohei Nishibe | 0 | 0 | Shimizu S-Pulse | Asian Cup 2007 preliminary squad, June 2007 |
;Defenders
| Player | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KÅji Nakata | 57 | 2 | FC Basel | v. Colombia, 5 June, 2007 |
| Hiroki Mizumoto | 2 | 0 | JEF United Ichihara | Asian Cup 2007 preliminary squad, June 2007 |
| Hayuma Tanaka | 1 | 0 | Yokohama F. Marinos | v. Saudi Arabia, 15 November, 2006 |
| Naoaki Aoyama | 0 | 0 | Shimizu S-Pulse | v. Colombia, 5 June, 2007 |
| Satoshi Yamaguchi | 0 | 0 | Gamba Osaka | v. India, 11 October, 2006 |
;Midfielders
| Player | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alessandro dos Santos | 82 | 7 | Red Bull Salzburg | v. Saudi Arabia, 15 November, 2006 |
| Makoto Hasebe | 6 | 0 | Urawa Reds | v. Saudi Arabia, 15 November, 2006 |
| Koki Mizuno | 4 | 0 | JEF United Ichihara Chiba | Asian Cup 2007 Finals |
| Jungo Fujimoto | 3 | 0 | Shimizu S-Pulse | v. Colombia, 5 June, 2007 |
| Takahiro Futagawa | 1 | 0 | Gamba Osaka | v. Peru, 24 March 2007 |
| Akihiro Ienaga | 1 | 0 | Gamba Osaka | Asian Cup 2007 preliminary squad, June 2007 |
| Yuto Sato | 1 | 0 | JEF United Ichihara Chiba | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
| Tsukasa Umesaki | 1 | 0 | Oita Trinita | v. Yemen, 6 September, 2006 |
| Keisuke Honda | 0 | 0 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Asian Cup 2007 preliminary squad, June 2007 |
| Takuya Nozawa | 0 | 0 | Kashima Antlers | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
| Takahito Soma | 0 | 0 | Urawa Reds | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
;Forwards
| Player | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naohiro Takahara | 53 | 23 | Eintracht Frankfurt | Asian Cup 2007 Finals |
| Kazuki Ganaha | 4 | 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
| Daiki Takamatsu | 1 | 0 | Oita Trinita | Training session, 19 February 2007 |
| Ryoichi Maeda | 0 | 0 | Jubilo Iwata | Asian Cup 2007 preliminary squad, June 2007 |
| Shota Matsuhashi | 0 | 0 | Oita Trinita | v. Peru, 24 March 2007 |
Former players
★ Masahiro Fukuda
★ Hiromi Hara
★ Kenta Hasegawa
★ Tetsuji Hashiratani
★ Masami Ihara
★ Kunishige Kamamoto
★ Nobutoshi Kaneda
★ Saburo Kawabuchi
★ Yahiro Kazama
★ Kazushi Kimura
★ Wagner Lopes
★ Takashi Mizunuma
★ Yasutaro Matsuki
★ Shigetatsu Matsunaga
★ Kazuyoshi Miura
★ Hiroaki Morishima
★ Yoshikazu Nagai
★ Hidetoshi Nakata
★ Masashi Nakayama
★ Yasuhiko Okudera
★ Norio Omura
★ Ruy Ramos
★ Ryuichi Sugiyama
★ Takuya Takagi
★ Nobuhiro Takeda
★ Satoshi Tsunami
★ Motohiro Yamaguchi
★ Kenzo Yokoyama
★ George Yonashiro
2006 World Cup Information
Japan 1-3 Australia
Japan suffered an upset loss in their opening game against Australia. The team took a 1-0 lead on a 26th minute goal by Shunsuke Nakamura. Mark Schwarzer failed to reach Nakamura's cross into the penalty area after collisions in front of the goal, and the ball went untouched into the net.
Australian players protested that Schwarzer had been fouled by Japanese forwards Atsushi Yanagisawa and Naohiro Takahara, but referee Essam Abdullah el Fatah allowed the goal to stand. Schwarzer and Australian captain Mark Viduka claimed that el Fatah apologized after the match for not calling a foul on the play but el Fatah denied issuing an apology, and said that "FIFA’s refereeing committee... agreed unanimously that Japan’s goal against Australia was correct."[3]
In the second half, Australia manager Guus Hiddink opted for a more attacking formation, substituting in forward Joshua Kennedy and attacking midfielders Tim Cahill and John Aloisi. Japan responded by holding its defensive line low and mixing in occasional counter-attacks for much of the second half, but failed to add to the lead.
Australia had several opportunities in front of the Japanese goal, forcing goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi to make a series of saves, including a double save on Viduka and another save on a Viduka free kick from just outside the penalty area.[4][5]
But Cahill scored the equaliser ('84) moments after the free kick after Kawaguchi misplayed a long throw-in.
Cahill nearly conceded a penalty kick when he tripped Yuichi Komano in the Australian penalty box, but el Fatah allowed the play to go on.[6]
Minutes later, Cahill scored his second on a shot that deflected off the right goal post into the netting ('89) to put Australia ahead 2-1. Aloisi added another goal in stoppage time ('90+2) to end the game 3-1.
While Australia only held a tiny edge in time of possession, it outshot Japan 20 to 6.[7] Guido Buchwald, World Cup winner with West Germany and Urawa Red Diamonds manager, had said before the tournament began that Japan needed to be more aggressive, saying "In Japan, the players want to keep the ball. But they must learn to shoot the goal. They cannot finish the play."[8]
Japan 0-0 Croatia
The second match, against Croatia, resulted in a draw (0-0), meaning that the Japanese will need to defeat world champions Brazil in order to reach the second round.
Croatia had a first-half opportunity to score when Dado Prso drew a foul from Tsuneyasu Miyamoto inside the penalty area. However, Kawaguchi, dived low to his left to turn away the spot-kick by Darijo Srna (22’), an image later featured that day on the World Cup Official Site as the Moment of the Day.[9]
Hidetoshi Nakata's first-time strike off a pass from Nakamura drew a flying save from Stipe Pletikosa (36').
One of the best scoring opportunities of the second half for the Japan came when Akira Kaji "burst into the Croatian penalty box and slid the ball across goal to Yanagisawa but, with the goal at his mercy, he somehow shot wide of the gaping net (51')."[10]
The Man of the Match honor went to Nakata, who "was the link between defence and attack and controlled play superbly", although it was a close decision between him and Kaji, who "ran up and down the flank to great effect, came inside when he had to and showed tremendous commitment throughout the 90 minutes."[11]
Japan 1-4 Brazil
Japan came into this match needing to beat Brazil by at least two goals, and for Croatia to defeat or draw with Australia in the other Group F match held simultaneously.
Japan took the lead first when Keiji Tamada scored on an assist from Alex in the 35th minute. However, Ronaldo just before half time tied the match 1-1 going into the second half.
Brazil took the lead for good in the 54th minute when Juninho struck from 30 meters out. Gilberto added a goal in the 60th minute to make the score 3-1, and Ronaldo added his second of the match -and the 14th in World Cup finals, tied for the most all-time with Gerd Müller- in the 81st minute, finishing the scoring at 4-1.
Brazil had 60 percent of the possession and had 14 shots on goal to just three from Japan.[12]
World Cup Rosters
Asian Cup Rosters
★ Asian Cup 1988 (Qatar)
★ Asian Cup 1992 (Japan)
★ Asian Cup 1996 (United Arab Emirates)
★ Asian Cup 2000 (Lebanon)
★ Asian Cup 2004 (China)
★ Asian Cup 2007 (Indonesia/Malaysia/Thailand/Vietnam)
Confederations Cup Rosters
★ 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
★ 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
★ 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
Summer Olympics Rosters
★ 1936 Olympics (Berlin)
★ 1956 Olympics (Melbourne)
★ 1964 Olympics (Tokyo)
★ 1968 Olympics (Mexico City)
★ 1996 Olympics (Atlanta)
★ 2000 Olympics (Sydney)
★ 2004 Olympics (Athens)
Youth National Team
FIFA U-20 World Cup record
★ 1977 - Didn't qualify
★ 1979 - Round 1
★ 1981 to 1993 - Didn't qualify
★ 1995 - Quarter-finals
★ 1997 - Quarter-finals
★ 1999 - Runners-up
★ 2001 - Round 1
★ 2003 - Quarter-finals
★ 2005 - Round of 16
★ 2007 - Round of 16
FIFA U-17 World Cup record
★ 1985 to 1991 - Didn't qualify
★ 1993 - Quarter-finals
★ 1995 - Round 1
★ 1997 - Didn't qualify
★ 1999 - Didn't qualify
★ 2001 - Round 1
★ 2003 - Didn't qualify
★ 2005 - Didn't qualify
★ 2007 - Qualified
Licensing for Video Games
The Japanese national team is currently licensed only for portrayal in video games by Konami (for example, Winning Eleven), and thus does not appear in the FIFA series of football videogames made by EA (although the Japanese national team has been featured in FIFA International Soccer until FIFA 2002 and all the FIFA World Cup Games also made by EA).
See also
★ Football in Japan
★ List of Japanese footballers with foreign heritage
★ List of Japanese footballers in European clubs
References
1. Osim unveiled as new coach of Japan
2. History of the J.League
3. Abdul-Fattah: I did not apologize to the Aussies Omar Shoeb
4. Japan squanders lead as Aussies come from behind to win 3-1
5. Australia 3-1 Japan
6. World Cup Penalty Count Falls as Referees Hold Back Gregory Viscusi
7. World Cup: A 6-minute, 32-year victory for Australia Peter Berlin
8. Australia turns to Japan for its World Cup secret weapon
9. Japan's goal keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi makes a save on a penalty kick by Croatia's Dado Prso during the first half of their World Cup Group F socc
10. JAPAN 0-0 CROATIA
11. Budweiser Man of the Match: Hidetoshi NAKATA (JPN)
12. Reality strikes / Japan's lead, hopes of stunning Brazil disappear in instant Shintaro Kano
External links
★ Japan Football Association national teams (Japanese)
★ Japan Football Association national teams (English)
★ RSSSF archive of national team results
★ RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
★ Japan team page at official 2006 FIFA World Cup site
★ Japan team page at official 2002 FIFA World Cup site
★ Rising Sun News: Japan NT history and news
Titles
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