Japan national football team

Japan

Nickname(s)	Nippon Daihyo (日本代表) Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン)[1]
Association	Japan Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Takeshi Okada
Captain	Yuji Nakazawa
Most caps	Masami Ihara (123)
Top scorer	Kunishige Kamamoto (75)
FIFA code	JPN
FIFA ranking	38
Highest FIFA ranking	9 (February 1998)
Lowest FIFA ranking	62 (February 2000)
Elo ranking	23
Highest Elo ranking	8 (August 2001, March 2002)
Lowest Elo ranking	112 (September 1962)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Japan 0 - 5 Republic of China  (Tokyo, Japan; May 9, 1917)
Biggest win
Japan 15 - 0 Philippines  (Tokyo, Japan; September 27, 1967)
Biggest defeat
Japan 2 - 15 Philippines  (Tokyo, Japan; May 10, 1917)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1998)
Best result	Round 2, 2002
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1988)
Best result	Winners, 1992, 2000, 2004
Confederations Cup
Appearances	4 (First in 1995)
Best result	2nd, 2001

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
Bronze	1968 Mexico City	Team

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. Osim fell ill in late 2007 and he was replaced by Takeshi Okada, who had taken Japan to the 1998 World Cup.^[2]

The team is commonly known by the fans and media as Nippon Daihyo (日本代表 "Japanese representatives"), Daihyo (代表 "representatives"). Although the team does not have an official nickname, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Ivica Osim, the team is known as Osim Japan. Recently the team has been known or nicknamed as the Blue Samurai.

Japan has qualified for the last three consecutive World Cup finals and is a three-time Asian Cup trophy winner.

Contents 1 History 2 Competition Records 2.1 FIFA World Cup Record 2.2 FIFA Confederations Cup Record 2.3 AFC Asian Cup Record 2.4 East Asian Cup Record 2.5 Olympic Games Record 3 Top goalscorers 4 Most Capped 5 Kits 6 Schedule and recent results 7 Current squad 7.1 Recent Call Ups 8 Former players 9 World Cup Rosters 10 Asian Cup Rosters 11 Confederations Cup Rosters 12 Summer Olympics Rosters 13 Youth National Team Records 13.1 FIFA U-20 World Cup Record 13.2 FIFA U-17 World Cup Record 13.3 AFC Youth Championship Record 13.4 AFC U-17 Championship Record 14 See also 15 References 16 External links

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.^[3]

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.

Competition Records

FIFA World Cup Record

FIFA World Cup Record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 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 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1974 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1978 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1982 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1986 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1990 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1994 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1998 Round 1 31/32 3 0 0 3 1 4 2002 Round 2 9/32 4 2 1 1 5 3 2006 Round 1 28/32 3 0 1 2 2 7 Total 3/18 - 10 2 2 6 8 14

FIFA World Cup History Year Round Score Result 1998 Round 1  Japan 0 – 1  Argentina Loss Round 1  Japan 0 – 1  Croatia Loss Round 1  Japan 1 – 2  Jamaica Loss 2002 Round 1  Japan 2 – 2  Belgium Draw Round 1  Japan 1 – 0  Russia Win Round 1  Japan 2 – 0  Tunisia Win Round 2  Japan 0 – 1  Turkey Loss 2006 Round 1  Japan 1 – 3  Australia Loss Round 1  Japan 0 – 0  Croatia Draw Round 1  Japan 1 – 4  Brazil Loss

FIFA Confederations Cup Record

FIFA Confederations Cup Record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1992 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1995 Round 1 6/6 2 0 0 2 1 8 1997 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1999 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 2001 Second Place 2/8 5 3 1 1 6 1 2003 Round 1 6/8 3 1 0 2 4 3 2005 Round 1 5/8 3 1 1 1 4 4 2009 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - Total 4/8 1 Runners-up 13 5 2 6 15 16

FIFA Confederations Cup History Year Round Score Result 1995 Round 1  Japan 0 – 3  Nigeria Loss Round 1  Japan 1 – 5  Argentina Loss 2001 Round 1  Japan 3 – 0  Canada Win Round 1  Japan 2 – 0  Cameroon Win Round 1  Japan 0 – 0  Brazil Draw Semi Finals  Japan 1 – 0  Australia Win Final  Japan 0 – 1  France Loss 2003 Round 1  Japan 3 – 0  New Zealand Win Round 1  Japan 1 – 2  France Loss Round 1  Japan 0 – 1  Colombia Loss 2005 Round 1  Japan 1 – 2  Mexico Loss Round 1  Japan 1 – 0  Greece Win Round 1  Japan 2 – 2  Brazil Draw

AFC Asian Cup Record

AFC Asian Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1956	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1960	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	10/10	4	0	1	3	0	6
1992	Champions	1/8	5	3	2	0	6	3
1996	Quarter-finals	7/12	4	3	0	1	7	3
2000	Champions	1/12	6	5	1	0	21	6
2004	Champions	1/16	6	4	2	0	13	6
2007	Fourth Place	4/16	6	2	3	1	11	7
Total	6/14	3 Titles	31	17	9	5	58	31

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

East Asian Cup Record

• 2003 - Second place
• 2005 - Second place
• 2008 - Second place

Olympic Games Record

Since 1992, the Olympic team has been drawn from a squad with a maximum of three players over 23 years of age, and the achievments of this team are not generally regarded as part of the national teams records, nor are the statistics credited to the players' international records.

Olympic Games Record Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1900 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1904 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1908 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1912 ''Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1920 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1924 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1928 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1936 Quarter-finals 8/16 2 1 0 1 3 10 1948 Banned - - - - - - - 1952 Did Not Enter - - - - - - - 1956 Round 1 10/11 1 0 0 1 0 2 1960 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1964 Quarter-finals 8/14 3 1 0 2 5 9 1968 Third Place 3/16 6 3 2 1 9 8 1972 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1976 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1980 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1984 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1988 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1992 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - - 1996 Round 1 9/16 3 2 0 1 4 4 2000 Quarter-finals 5/16 4 2 1 1 6 5 2004 Round 1 13/16 3 1 0 2 6 7 2008 Round 1 15/16 3 0 0 3 1 4 Total 8/24 1 Third Place 25 10 3 12 34 49 *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games History Year Round Score Result 1936 Round 1  Japan 3 – 2  Sweden Win Quarter Finals  Japan 0 – 8  Italy Loss 1956 Round 1  Japan 0 – 2  Australia Loss 1964 Round 1  Japan 3 – 2  Argentina Win Round 1  Japan 2 – 3  Ghana Loss Quarter Finals  Japan 0 – 4  Czechoslovakia Loss 1968 Round 1  Japan 3 – 1  Nigeria Win Round 1  Japan 1 – 1  Brazil Draw Round 1  Japan 0 – 0  Spain Draw Quarter Finals  Japan 3 – 1  France Win Semi Finals  Japan 0 – 5  Hungary Loss Third Place  Japan 2 – 0  Mexico Win 1996 Round 1  Japan 1 – 0  Brazil Win Round 1  Japan 0 – 2  Nigeria Loss Round 1  Japan 3 – 2  Hungary Win 2000 Round 1  Japan 2 – 1  South Africa Win Round 1  Japan 2 – 1  Slovakia Win Round 1  Japan 0 – 1  Brazil Loss Quarter Finals  Japan 2 – 2  United States Loss* 2004 Round 1  Japan 3 – 4  Paraguay Loss Round 1  Japan 2 – 3  Italy Loss Round 1  Japan 1 – 0  Ghana Win 2008 Round 1  Japan 0 – 1  United States Loss Round 1  Japan 1 – 2  Nigeria Loss Round 1  Japan 0 – 1  Netherlands Loss *Eliminated on penalty kicks.

Top goalscorers

As of November 20, 2008

Pos	Player	Goals	Tenure
1	Kunishige Kamamoto	75	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	Shunsuke Nakamura	22	2000-present
8	Masashi Nakayama	21	1990-2003
9	Teruki Miyamoto	19	1961-1971
10	Atsushi Yanagisawa	17	1998-2006

* The players in bold typeface are still active in football.

Most Capped

As of November 20, 2008

Pos	Player	Caps	Tenure
1	Masami Ihara	122	1988-1999
2	Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi	116	1997-present
3	Kazuyoshi Miura	89	1990-2000
4	Alessandro dos Santos	82	2002-2006
4	Yuji Nakazawa	82	1999-present
4	Shunsuke Nakamura	82	2000-present
7	Satoshi Tsunami	80	1980-1995
8	Hidetoshi Nakata	77	1997-2006
9	Kunishige Kamamoto	75	1964-1977
9	Hiromi Hara	75	1978-1988

* The players in bold typeface are still active in football.

Kits

Japan's home dress does not match its national flag as it consists of a blue jersey, white shorts, and blue socks. The away kit consists of a white jersey, blue shorts, and white socks. However, Japan formerly wore white and red which matched its national flag.

Schedule and recent results

Matches under Takeshi Okada , as well as any future scheduled matches.

Date	Opponent	Result	Score1	Venue	Competition
January 26, 2008	Chile	D	0-0	National Stadium, Tokyo	Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2008)
January 30, 2008	Bosnia and Herzegovina	W	3-0	National Stadium, Tokyo	Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2008)
February 6, 2008	Thailand	W	4-1	Saitama Stadium, Saitama	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
February 17, 2008	Korea DPR	D	1-1	Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	East Asian Cup 2008
February 20, 2008	China PR	W	1-0	Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	East Asian Cup 2008
February 23, 2008	Korea Republic	D	1-1	Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China	East Asian Cup 2008
March 26, 2008	Bahrain	L	0-1	National Stadium, Madinat 'Isa, Bahrain	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
May 24, 2008	Côte d'Ivoire	W	1-0	Toyota Stadium, Toyota	Kirin Cup 2008
May 27, 2008	Paraguay	D	0-0	Saitama Stadium, Saitama	Kirin Cup 2008
June 2, 2008	Oman	W	3-0	International Stadium, Yokohama	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
June 7, 2008	Oman	D	1-1	Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat, Oman	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
June 14, 2008	Thailand	W	3-0	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
June 22, 2008	Bahrain	W	1-0	Saitama Stadium, Saitama	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
August 20, 2008	Uruguay	L	1-3	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo	Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2008)
September 6, 2008	Bahrain	W	3-2	National Stadium, Madinat 'Isa, Bahrain	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
October 9, 2008	United Arab Emirates	D	1-1	Tohoku Denryoku Big Swan Stadium, Niigata	Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2008)
October 15, 2008	Uzbekistan	D	1-1	Saitama Stadium, Saitama	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
November 13, 2008	Syria	W	3-1	Home's Stadium Kobe, Kobe	Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2008)
November 19, 2008	Qatar	W	3-0	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
January 20, 2009	Yemen			Kumamoto Prefectural Athletic Park, Kumamoto	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
January 28, 2009	Bahrain			National Stadium, Madinat 'Isa, Bahrain	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
February 11, 2009	Australia			International Stadium, Yokohama	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
March 28, 2009	Bahrain			TBD	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
June 6, 2009	Uzbekistan			Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
June 10, 2009	Qatar			TBD	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
June 17, 2009	Australia			Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
November 14, 2009	Hong Kong			TBD	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
November 18, 2009	Hong Kong			Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
January 6, 2010	Yemen			Ali Mohsen Al-Muraisi Stadium, Sana'a, Yemen	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
March 3, 2010	Bahrain			TBD	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

¹ Japan score always listed first

Current squad

Squad selected for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Qatar on November 19 2008.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi August 15, 1975 (1975-08-15) (age 34) 116 0 Júbilo Iwata GK Ryōta Tsuzuki April 18, 1978 (1978-04-18) (age 31) 3 0 Urawa Red Diamonds GK Eiji Kawashima March 20, 1983 (1983-03-20) (age 26) 1 0 Kawasaki Frontale DF Shuhei Terada June 23, 1975 (1975-06-23) (age 34) 4 0 Kawasaki Frontale DF Kazumichi Takagi November 21, 1980 (1980-11-21) (age 28) 3 0 Shimizu S-Pulse DF Marcus Tulio Tanaka April 24, 1981 (1981-04-24) (age 28) 19 4 Urawa Red Diamonds DF Yūichi Komano July 25, 1981 (1981-07-25) (age 28) 40 0 Júbilo Iwata DF Yuki Abe September 6, 1981 (1981-09-06) (age 28) 33 2 Urawa Red Diamonds DF Yuto Nagatomo September 12, 1986 (1986-09-12) (age 23) 7 1 F.C. Tokyo DF Michihiro Yasuda December 20, 1987 (1987-12-20) (age 21) 5 0 Gamba Osaka DF Atsuto Uchida March 27, 1988 (1988-03-27) (age 21) 14 1 Kashima Antlers MF Shunsuke Nakamura June 24, 1978 (1978-06-24) (age 31) 82 22 Celtic F.C. MF Hideo Hashimoto May 21, 1979 (1979-05-21) (age 30) 6 0 Gamba Osaka MF Yasuhito Endo January 28, 1980 (1980-01-28) (age 29) 73 7 Gamba Osaka MF Kengo Nakamura October 24, 1980 (1980-10-24) (age 29) 29 3 Kawasaki Frontale MF Daisuke Matsui May 11, 1981 (1981-05-11) (age 28) 13 1 Saint-Étienne MF Yasuyuki Konno January 25, 1983 (1983-01-25) (age 26) 26 0 F.C. Tokyo MF Makoto Hasebe February 18, 1984 (1984-02-18) (age 25) 16 0 VfL Wolfsburg MF Shinji Kagawa March 17, 1989 (1989-03-17) (age 20) 6 1 Cerezo Osaka FW Keiji Tamada April 11, 1980 (1980-04-11) (age 29) 53 13 Nagoya Grampus FW Seiichiro Maki August 7, 1980 (1980-08-07) (age 29) 35 8 JEF United Ichihara Chiba FW Hisato Satō March 12, 1982 (1982-03-12) (age 27) 25 3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima FW Yoshito Okubo June 9, 1982 (1982-06-09) (age 27) 33 5 Vissel Kobe FW Tatsuya Tanaka November 27, 1982 (1982-11-27) (age 26) 12 2 Urawa Red Diamonds FW Shinji Okazaki April 16, 1986 (1986-04-16) (age 23) 4 0 Shimizu S-Pulse

Recent Call Ups

The following players have also been called up to the Japan squad within the last twelve months.

Goalkeepers

Player	DoB/Age	Caps	Goals	Team	Most Recent Call up
Seigo Narazaki	April 11, 1976 (1976-04-11) (age 33)	63	0	Nagoya Grampus	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Uzbekistan, October 15, 2008
Shusaku Nishikawa	June 18, 1986 (1986-06-18) (age 23)	0	0	Oita Trinita	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Bahrain, September 6, 2008

Defenders

Player	DoB/Age	Caps	Goals	Team	Most Recent Call up
Yuji Nakazawa	February 25, 1978 (1978-02-25) (age 31)	82	15	Yokohama F. Marinos	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Uzbekistan, October 15, 2008
Hiroki Mizumoto	September 12, 1985 (1985-09-12) (age 24)	3	0	Kyoto Sanga F.C.	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Bahrain, September 6, 2008
Yusuke Igawa	October 30, 1982 (1982-10-30) (age 26)	0	0	Kawasaki Frontale	Friendly match v. Paraguay, May 27, 2008
Yuzo Kurihara	September 18, 1983 (1983-09-18) (age 26)	1	0	Yokohama F. Marinos	Training session, April 2008
Yuhei Tokunaga	September 25, 1983 (1983-09-25) (age 26)	0	0	F.C. Tokyo	Training session, April 2008
Akira Kaji	January 13, 1980 (1980-01-13) (age 29)	64	2	Gamba Osaka	East Asian Cup 2008 v. Korea Republic, February 23, 2008
Daiki Iwamasa	January 30, 1982 (1982-01-30) (age 27)	0	0	Kashima Antlers	East Asian Cup 2008 v. Korea Republic, February 23, 2008
Keisuke Tsuboi	September 16, 1979 (1979-09-16) (age 30)	40	0	Urawa Red Diamonds	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Thailand, February 6, 2008
Naoaki Aoyama	July 18, 1986 (1986-07-18) (age 23)	0	0	Shimizu S-Pulse	Training session, January 2008

Midfielders

Player	DoB/Age	Caps	Goals	Team	Most Recent Call up
Junichi Inamoto	September 18, 1979 (1979-09-18) (age 30)	70	4	Eintracht Frankfurt	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Uzbekistan, October 15, 2008
Shinji Ono	September 27, 1979 (1979-09-27) (age 30)	56	6	VfL Bochum	Friendly match v. Uruguay, August 20, 2008
Keita Suzuki	July 8, 1981 (1981-07-08) (age 28)	28	0	Urawa Red Diamonds	Friendly match v. Uruguay, August 20, 2008
Koji Yamase	September 22, 1981 (1981-09-22) (age 28)	12	5	Yokohama F. Marinos	Friendly match v. Uruguay, August 20, 2008
Takeshi Aoki	September 28, 1982 (1982-09-28) (age 27)	1	0	Kashima Antlers	Friendly match v. Uruguay, August 20, 2008
Satoru Yamagishi	May 3, 1983 (1983-05-03) (age 26)	11	0	Kawasaki Frontale	Training session, April 2008
Naoshi Nakamura	January 27, 1979 (1979-01-27) (age 30)	1	0	Nagoya Grampus	Training session, April 2008
Norihiro Nishi	May 9, 1980 (1980-05-09) (age 29)	5	0	Júbilo Iwata	Training session, April 2008
Takehito Shigehara	October 6, 1981 (1981-10-06) (age 28)	0	0	-	Training session, April 2008
Naotake Hanyu	December 22, 1979 (1979-12-22) (age 29)	17	0	F.C. Tokyo	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Bahrain, March 26, 2008
Koki Mizuno	September 6, 1985 (1985-09-06) (age 24)	4	0	Celtic F.C.	Training session, January 2008

Forwards

Player	DoB/Age	Caps	Goals	Team	Most Recent Call up
Shinzo Koroki	July 31, 1986 (1986-07-31) (age 23)	2	0	Kashima Antlers	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Uzbekistan, October 15, 2008
Masashi Oguro	May 4, 1980 (1980-05-04) (age 29)	22	5	Tokyo Verdy	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Bahrain, September 6, 2008
Naohiro Takahara	June 4, 1979 (1979-06-04) (age 30)	57	23	Urawa Red Diamonds	Friendly match v. Paraguay, May 27, 2008
Yuichiro Nagai	February 14, 1979 (1979-02-14) (age 30)	4	1	Urawa Red Diamonds	Training session, April 2008
Shingo Akamine	December 8, 1983 (1983-12-08) (age 25)	0	0	F.C. Tokyo	Training session, April 2008
Yuzo Tashiro	July 22, 1982 (1982-07-22) (age 27)	3	0	Kashima Antlers	2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Bahrain, March 26, 2008
Ryuji Bando	August 2, 1979 (1979-08-02) (age 30)	7	2	Gamba Osaka	East Asian Cup 2008 v. Korea Republic, February 23, 2008
Ryoichi Maeda	October 9, 1981 (1981-10-09) (age 28)	3	2	Júbilo Iwata	East Asian Cup 2008 v. North Korea, February 17, 2008

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
• Alessandro dos Santos
• Yasuhiko Okudera
• Norio Omura
• Ruy Ramos
• Ryuichi Sugiyama
• Takuya Takagi
• Nobuhiro Takeda
• Satoshi Tsunami
• Motohiro Yamaguchi
• Kenzo Yokoyama
• George Yonashiro

World Cup Rosters

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

Japan squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Kawaguchi • 2 Akita • 3 Matsuda • 4 Morioka • 5 Inamoto • 6 Hattori • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Morishima • 9 Nishizawa • 10 Nakayama • 11 Suzuki • 12 Narazaki • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Alex • 15 Fukunishi • 16 K. Nakata • 17 Miyamoto • 18 Ono • 19 Ogasawara • 20 Myojin • 21 Toda • 22 Ichikawa • 23 Sogahata • Coach: Troussier

Japan squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Narazaki • 2 Moniwa • 3 Komano • 4 Endō • 5 Miyamoto • 6 K. Nakata • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Ogasawara • 9 Takahara • 10 Nakamura • 11 Maki • 12 Doi • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Alex • 15 Fukunishi • 16 Oguro • 17 Inamoto • 18 Ono • 19 Tsuboi • 20 Tamada • 21 Kaji • 22 Nakazawa • 23 Kawaguchi • Coach: Zico

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)
• 2008 Olympics (Beijing)

Youth National Team Records

FIFA U-20 World Cup Record

FIFA U-20 World Cup
Year	Round	PLD	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1977	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1979	Round 1	3	0	2	1	1	2
1981	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1983	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1985	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1987	Didn't qualify	4	1	1	2	4	8
1989	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1991	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1993	Didn't qualify	6	4	0	2	13	9
1995	Quarter-finals	4	1	1	2	6	6
1997	Quarter-finals	5	2	1	2	12	9
1999	Second place	7	4	1	2	11	9
2001	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	4
2003	Quarter-finals	5	3	0	2	6	10
2005	Round of 16	4	0	2	2	3	5
2007	Round of 16	4	2	2	0	6	3
2009	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total		45	18	10	17	66	65

FIFA U-17 World Cup Record

FIFA U-17 World Cup
Year	Round	PLD	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1985	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1987	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1989	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1991	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1993	Quarter-finals	4	1	1	2	3	4
1995	Round 1	3	1	1	1	2	2
1997	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1999	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2001	Round 1	3	1	0	2	2	9
2003	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2005	Didn't qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2007	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	6
2009	Qualified	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total		13	4	2	7	11	21

AFC Youth Championship Record

• 1992 : Third Place
• 1994 : Second Place
• 1996 : Fourth Place
• 1998 : Second Place
• 2000 : Second Place
• 2002 : Second Place
• 2004 : Third Place
• 2006 : Second Place
• 2008 : Quarter-finals

AFC U-17 Championship Record

AFC U-17 Championship
Year	Round	PLD	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1986	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-
1988	Round 1	4	1	1	2	4	8
1990	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-
1992	Did Not Enter	-	-	-	-	-	-
1994	Champions	6	4	0	2	13	9
1996	Fourth Place	6	3	2	1	13	7
1998	Round 1	4	2	1	1	8	6
2000	Third place	6	5	0	1	20	6
2002	Round 1	3	1	0	2	2	4
2004	Round 1	3	1	1	1	4	3
2006	Champions	6	4	2	0	17	6
2008	Semi-Finals	5	4	0	1	16	3
Total	2 Titles	43	25	7	11	97	52

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

See also

• Football in Japan
• List of Japanese footballers with foreign heritage
• List of Japanese footballers in European clubs

References

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

AFC Asian Cup Winners
3 titles :  Iran (1968, 1972, 1976)  Japan (1992, 2000, 2004)  Saudi Arabia (1984, 1988, 1996) 2 titles :  Korea Republic (1956, 1960) 1 title :  Iraq (2007)  Israel (1964)  Kuwait (1980)
Seasons in Japan national football team
1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 Football in Japan Japan Football Association     League Comp. J. League Division 1 J. League Division 2 Japan Football League League system Women's League National Team Women/Futsal League Champions (1st Tier/2nd Tier) List of clubs List of venues Cup Competitions Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Japanese Super Cup Shakaijin Cup Women's Cup
International football
FIFA · World Cup · Confederations Cup · U-20 World Cup · U-17 World Cup Olympics · Asian Games · All-Africa Games · Pan American Games · Island Games · Minor Tournaments World Rankings · Player of the Year · Teams · Competitions · Organizations · Codes
Asia AFC - Asian Cup Africa CAF - Africa Cup of Nations North America CONCACAF - Gold Cup South America CONMEBOL - Copa América Oceania OFC - Nations Cup Europe UEFA - European Championship Non-FIFA NF-Board - Viva World Cup
National football teams of Asia (AFC)
Afghanistan | Australia | Bahrain | Bangladesh | Bhutan | Brunei | Cambodia | China PR | Chinese Taipei | Guam | Hong Kong* | India | Indonesia | Iran | Iraq | Japan | Jordan | Korea DPR | Korea Republic | Kuwait | Kyrgyzstan | Laos | Lebanon | Macau* | Malaysia | Maldives | Mongolia | Myanmar | Nepal | Oman | Pakistan | Palestine | Philippines | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Singapore | Sri Lanka | Syria | Tajikistan | Thailand | Timor-Leste | Turkmenistan | United Arab Emirates | Uzbekistan | Vietnam | Yemen * FIFA and AFC use Hong Kong and Macau; the EAFF uses Hong Kong, China and Macau, China.
National football teams of East Asia (EAFF)
China PR | Chinese Taipei | Guam | Hong Kong, China | Japan | Korea DPR | Korea Republic | Macau, China | Mongolia | Northern Mariana Islands† †OFC Associate Member All teams are part of the AFC, apart from the Northern Mariana Islands, who are associate part of the OFC. Note: FIFA and AFC use Hong Kong and Macau; the EAFF uses Hong Kong, China and Macau, China.
2006 FIFA World Cup finalists
Champions: Italy Runners-up: France Third place: Germany  Fourth place: Portugal  Eliminated in quarter-finals: Argentina • Brazil • England • Ukraine Eliminated in round of 16: Australia • Ecuador • Ghana • Mexico • Netherlands • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland Eliminated in group stage: Angola • Costa Rica • Côte d'Ivoire • Croatia • Czech Republic • Iran • Japan • Korea Republic • Paraguay • Poland • Saudi Arabia • Serbia & Montenegro • Togo • Trinidad and Tobago • Tunisia • United States
National sports teams of Japan
American football | Australian rules football | Baseball | Basketball (F, M) | Beach Soccer | Billiard/Pool | Boxing | Cricket | Fencing | Field hockey | Football (F, M) | Futsal | Golf (F, M) | Handball | Ice hockey (F, M) | Korfball | Rugby Union (F, M) | Rugby league | Softball | Taekwondo | Tennis (F, M) | Volleyball (F, M)