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Japan national football team

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Japan
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Osim Japan
AssociationJapan Football Association
Head coachBosnia and Herzegovina Ivica Osim
CaptainYoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Most capsMasami Ihara (123)
Top scorerKunishige Kamamoto (73)
FIFA codeJPN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current41
Highest9 (February 1998)
Lowest62 (February 2000)
First international
Japan Japan 0 - 5 Republic of China Taiwan
(Tokyo, Japan; May 9, 1917)
Biggest win
Japan Japan 15 - 0 Philippines Philippines
(Tokyo, Japan; September 27, 1967)
Biggest defeat
Japan Japan 2 - 15 Philippines Philippines
(Tokyo, Japan; September 10, 1917)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1998)
Best resultRound 2, 2002
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances5 (first in 1988)
Best resultWinners, 1992, 2000, 2004
Confederations Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1995)
Best result2nd, 2001
Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
Bronze medal – third place 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.[1]

The team is commonly known by the fans and media as Nihon 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 Osim, the team is known as Osim Japan.

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.

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

Asian Cup record

East Asian Cup record

Top goalscorers

As of January 20, 2007

Pos Player Goals Tenure
1 Kunishige Kamamoto 73 1964-1977
2 Kazuyoshi Miura 56 1990-2000
3 Hiromi Hara 37 1978-1988
4 Takuya Takagi 27 1992-1997
5 Kazushi Kimura 26 1979-1986
6 Masashi Nakayama 21 1990-2003
7 Teruki Miyamoto 19 1961-1971
8 Naohiro Takahara 17 2000-present
8 Atsushi Yanagisawa 17 1998-2006
10 Shunsuke Nakamura 16 2000-present

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

Most Capped

As of January 20, 2007

Pos Player Caps Tenure
1 Masami Ihara 123 1988-1999
2 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi 99 1997-present
3 Kazuyoshi Miura 91 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
10 Tsuneyasu Miyamoto 71 2000-2006

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


Former players

2006 World Cup Squad

Head coach: Zico

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Seigo Narazaki 15 April 1976 50 Japan Nagoya Grampus Eight
2 2DF Teruyuki Moniwa 8 September 1981 9 Japan FC Tokyo
3 2DF Yuichi Komano 25 July 1981 9 Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
4 3MF Yasuhito Endo 28 January 1980 40 Japan Gamba Osaka
5 2DF Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (captain) 7 February 1977 70 Japan Gamba Osaka
6 2DF Koji Nakata 9 July 1979 55 Switzerland FC Basel
7 3MF Hidetoshi Nakata 22 January 1977 75 England Bolton Wanderers
8 3MF Mitsuo Ogasawara 5 April 1979 51 Japan Kashima Antlers
9 4FW Naohiro Takahara 4 June 1979 42 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
10 3MF Shunsuke Nakamura 24 June 1978 61 Scotland Celtic
11 4FW Seiichiro Maki 7 August 1980 10 Japan JEF United Ichihara
12 1GK Yoichi Doi 25 July 1973 4 Japan FC Tokyo
13 4FW Atsushi Yanagisawa 27 May 1977 57 Japan Kashima Antlers
14 2DF Alessandro Santos 20 July 1977 73 Japan Urawa Red Diamonds
15 3MF Takashi Fukunishi 1 September 1976 63 Japan Jubilo Iwata
16 4FW Masashi Oguro 4 May 1980 19 France Grenoble Foot 38
17 3MF Junichi Inamoto 18 September 1979 63 England West Bromwich Albion
18 3MF Shinji Ono 27 September 1979 55 Japan Urawa Red Diamonds
19 2DF Keisuke Tsuboi 16 September 1979 34 Japan Urawa Red Diamonds
20 4FW Keiji Tamada 11 April 1980 39 Japan Nagoya Grampus Eight
21 2DF Akira Kaji 13 January 1980 43 Japan Gamba Osaka
22 2DF Yuji Nakazawa 25 February 1978 51 Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
23 1GK Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi 15 August 1975 90 Japan Jubilo Iwata

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 Josh 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

Confederations Cup Rosters

Summer Olympics Rosters

Youth National Team

FIFA U-20 World Cup record

FIFA U-17 World Cup record

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.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Osim unveiled as new coach of Japan". Reuters. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2006-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Matsushima, Ken. "History of the J.League". Rising Sun News. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Shoeb, Omar (2006-06-13). "Abdul-Fattah: I did not apologize to the Aussies". FilBalad. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Japan squanders lead as Aussies come from behind to win 3-1". Mainichi Daily News. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Australia 3-1 Japan". BBC Sport. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Viscusi, Gregory (2006-06-14). "World Cup Penalty Count Falls as Referees Hold Back". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Berlin, Peter (2006-06-13). "World Cup: A 6-minute, 32-year victory for Australia". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Australia turns to Japan for its World Cup secret weapon". Mainichi Daily News. 2006-06-09. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  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". FIFAworldcup.com. 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "JAPAN 0-0 CROATIA". FIFAworldcup.com. 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Budweiser Man of the Match: Hidetoshi NAKATA (JPN)". FIFAworldcup.com. 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Kano, Shintaro (2006-06-24). "Reality strikes / Japan's lead, hopes of stunning Brazil disappear in instant". Daily Yomiuri. Retrieved 2006-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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