Japan national football team

	Olympic medal record
Men’s Football

Japan
Nickname(s)	Nippon Daihyo (日本代表); Okada Japan (岡田ジャパン)
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	32
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

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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. 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.

[edit] History

Japan's former kit

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.

[edit] Competition Records

[edit] 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

[edit] 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
1995	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

[edit] 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.

[edit] East Asian Cup Record

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

[edit] 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
1936	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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Most Capped