The Japan National Football Team and the 2022 World Cup

The FIFA World Cup 2022 begins in Qatar on 20 November 2022. Over the last few decades, the Japan National Team has begun to solidify its place as Asia’s best football team. This World Cup is an exciting opportunity for the National Team to progress further than it ever has before.

The National Team, affectionately nicknamed the Samurai Blue, has now qualified for seven World Cups. Since joining FIFA in 1929 and its debut at the 1998 France World Cup, Japan’s football scene has dramatically improved on both a domestic and international scale.

Coach Moriyasu has confirmed that the team is aiming to make it to the quarter-finals, which would be the first time Japan has ever done so. With a tough group stage to get through, Japan and its fans remain optimistic. The challenges ahead will test this exciting, young team, who have the opportunity to make Japanese history.

Japan’s National Team 2022 Coaches

Hajime Moriyasu, 54, is the current head coach of the National Team. Moriyasu is a former player for the Samurai Blue, with 35 caps between 1992 and 1996. He was on the field during the infamous “Agony of Doha” incident in 1993, when Japan narrowly lost out on qualifying for the 1994 World Cup due to Iraq’s devastating 90th minute equalizer. He also made more than 250 appearances in 14 years for Sanfrecce Hiroshima, before spending his final professional season with Vegalta Sendai.

Moriyasu’s coaching career began in 2012 with club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He led the team to win the J1 League title (Japan’s professional league) in his first coaching season and a further two times after that. Moriyasu was then asked to join Japan’s national coaching panel in 2017 as manager of the U-23 team.

The National Team had experienced a tumultuous few years in the run up to the 2018 World Cup. Manager Vahid Halilhodzic was fired just weeks before the tournament, replaced on a temporary basis by Akira Nishino as head coach and Moriyasu appointed as assistant coach. Aiming to provide stability and build a solid foundation for the 2020 Tokyo Games and the 2022 World Cup, the Japan Football Association appointed Moriyasu as head coach and manager for the National Team on 26 July 2018.

Moriyasu’s first test as coach came in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. After defeating Iran 3-0 in the Semi-Finals, the Samurai Blue lost to Qatar in the final, marking Japan’s first defeat at a continental championship. From that point, Moriyasu began to reform the team and his vision at the time was to focus on the new generation of players. For example, in his Qatar 2022 World Cup squad, there are only two starting players who have retained their positions since the 2018 World Cup – Maya Yoshida and Hiroki Sakai.

However, despite this seemingly rapid transformation, Moriyasu has often been criticized domestically for always picking the same team. He is generally known for having a cautious offense and defense approach, favoring the 4-2-3-1 formation. Despite this criticism over the years, he has brought stability to the National Team by serving a complete four-year cycle in the run up to this World Cup.

His cautious approach may also prove useful in the tough group stage games against Germany and Spain. In addition, the tournament is a personal one for Moriyasu, and he has stated that he is hoping to turn the “Agony of Doha” into the “Jubilation of Doha”. Having failed to win a medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the National Team’s performance at this World Cup will be an important milestone in Moriyasu’s career.

Moriyasu is supported by assistant coaches Akinobu Yokouchi, Toshihide Saito and Yusaku Ueno; all former Japanese football players. Takashi Shimoda works as goalkeeping coach and Ryoichi Matsumoto as physical coach. Both Shimoda and Saito played for the National Team during their playing careers.

Japan’s National Team 2022 Players

The National Team’s 26-player squad are as follows:

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg), Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Daniel Schmidt (Sint-Truiden)

Defenders: Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Maya Yoshida (Schalke 04), Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Red Diamonds), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart), Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Midfielders: Gaku Shibasaki (Leganes), Takumi Minamino (Monaco), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting CP), Wataru Endo (Stuttgart), Junya Ito (Reims), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus)

Forwards: Ayase Ueda (Cercle Brugge), Takuma Asano (Bochum), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Shuto Machino (Shonan Bellmare)

Japan’s 2022 World Cup squad is a mix of young and experienced players, reflecting the huge depth of talented players to choose from. As many as 19 of the 26 players all compete with European clubs. Moriyasu has noted that while there are plenty of star players, he has selected players based on building the strongest team rather than focusing on individual players.

A number of world cup rookies have also been selected, with the idea that their passion to succeed in the World Cup will fuel the team overall.[5] The balance of experienced players, such as Eiji Kawashima and Yuto Nagatomo who have both appeared in three previous world cups, will help to settle the younger players on the field.[6] There are many exciting players to watch this World Cup:

Maya Yoshida: Captain of the team, the defender has over 121 caps for Japan since his debut for the team in 2010. He was selected as part of the IFFHS AFC Man Team of the Year in 2020 and the Men’s Team of the Decade 2011-2020. Yoshida has spent most of his club career with Southampton (2012-20 and the Sampdoria (2019-22), but has recently joined FC Schalke 04. In his professional club career, he has made 449 appearances in total and scored 28 goals. This will be his third world cup appearance.

Takefusa Kubo: Kubo is an up-and-coming international star, still only 21 years old. He joined FC Tokyo’s U-18 team in 2016 and became the youngest ever J.League player at age 15 years, five months and one day. At age 15 years, ten months Kubo also became the youngest player to score in the J.League during a 1-0 win over Cerezo Osaka U-23. He signed with Spanish club Real Madrid in 2019 on a five-year deal, and through he was registered with their U-19 team, he was expected to mainly play for Real Madrid B during the 2019–20 season. He went on to appear regularly with the first team during Real Madrid’s pre-season tour of the USA and Germany. After a series of loans to Mallorca, Villareal and Getafe, Kubo signed a permanent deal with Real Sociedad in 2022. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win away to Cádiz in their opening game of the season in La Liga, his debut match. He made his debut for the National Team in 2019 and has since appeared 22 times and scored once.

Takumi Minamino: Minamino is a Japanese football veteran, now in his ninth season of European club football. His club career began with Cerezo Osaka in 2012 and he was named J.League Rookie of the Year in that same season. He previously played for Red Bull Salzburg (2014-18) and was the first Japanese player to play for Liverpool when he joined the club in January 2020. Out of a total of 55 Liverpool appearances, he scored 14 times and appeared ten times for Southampton while on loan with 2 goals scored. Minamino announced a four-year contract with Monaco in June 2022. Minamino made his senior international debut for Japan in 2015, and has been an asset ever since due to his impressive goal-scoring abilities. His extensive European experience will be particularly vital when Japan faces Germany and Spain in the World Cup group stage. Minamino has appeared for Japan 44 times and scored 17 goals.

Wataru Endo: Defensive midfielder Wataru Endo began his club career with Shonan Bellmare (2010-15) and later played for Sint-Truiden (2018-20). He was loaned to VfB Stuttgart in 2019 and later signed with the club permanently in April 2020. Endo scored Stuttgart’s only goal in a 1–2 loss to TSG Hoffenheim in February 2022. In May 2022, he also scored the winning goal in stoppage time in a 2–1 win over 1. FC Köln, securing the club’s place in the 2022-23 Bundesliga. In the past two seasons, Endo has made more tackles in the Bundesliga than any other player, and was awarded the Stuttgart armband for his leadership skills – unusual for an Asian player in one of Europe’s major leagues. He made his debut for the Samurai Blue in 2015 and has since scored twice out of 41 appearances.

Junya Ito: Known within Japan for his explosive speed, Ito began his club career in the J1 League with Ventforet Kofu in 2015. He has since played for Kashiwa Reysol (2016-18), Genk on loan (2018-20) and permanently (2020-22) and has recently signed with Ligue 1 club Reims. Since his professional career began in 2015, he has scored 59 times in a total of 318 appearances. He began playing for the National Team in 2017 and has since scored 9 times out of 37 games.

Daichi Kamada: Kamada has played for Eintracht Frankfurt since 2017, with a loan to Sint-Truiden in the 2018-19 season. He has been one of Europe’s top performers during the 2021-22 season, scoring the winning goal against West Ham United in the Europa League semi-finals and scoring one of the penalty shootouts to win the Europa League finals. He also scored in three consecutive matches in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage, which contributed to Frankfurt reaching the knockout phase. With a total of 154 appearances for Frankfurt, he has scored 36 times. Kamada made his debut for the Samurai Blue in March 2019 against Colombia and scored his first goal for the team in a 6–0 win against Mongolia in October 2019. In total, he has appeared 22 times and scored six times for Japan. This will be Kamada’s first world cup appearance.

Takehiro Tomiyasu: Tomiyasu has become a national sensation since playing for Premier league club Arsenal in 2021. He started his club career with Avispa Fukuoka in 2015, then going on to play for Sint-Truidense from 2017-2019 and Bologna from 2019-201. Tomiyasu plays either the right–back or centre–back positions, and is known for his speed, physicality, and a strong defending structure. He has so far made 39 appearances for Arsenal and was named Arsenal’s Player of the Month in September 2021. Tomiyasu made his debut for the Samurai Blue in October 2018, and has since made 29 appearances and scored 1 goal.

Ritsu Doan: Doan has previously played for Gamba Osaka (2015-17), Groningen (2017-19) and PSV Eindhoven (2019-22, with a loan to Arminia Bielefeld in 2020). He now plays for SC Freiburg winger. He joined the Japan National Team in 2018 and has since scored three goals in 29 appearances.

The team has had an unfortunate run of injuries in recent weeks, with Yuto Nakayama already pulled out and other doubts remaining about Takefusa Kubo, Ao Tanaka, Takuma Asano and Ko Itakura. Whether any further changes will need to be made remains to be seen.

The National Team’s Records

The 2022 World Cup will be the Japan National Team’s seventh World Cup appearance. Their current FIFA world ranking is 24, as at November 2022. While the Japan National Team has reached the Round of 16 three times, it has never progressed passed that stage. The National Team lost to Belgium 3-2 in 2018, were eliminated by Paraguay on penalties in 2010, and lost to Turkey 1-0 in 2002.

Moriyasu and the National Team are now determined to get to the quarterfinals and beyond, and the Japan Football Association has stated that its goal is to win the entire tournament by 2050. These games against Spain and Germany will be a major benchmark for Japan towards that goal.

Japan has had many successes throughout the previous six world cups. In 2002, Japan co-hosted the World Cup with South Korea. This was an historic moment for Asian football as it was the first time that the continent had hosted the tournament and the first time that two countries had hosted it together. Their first ever world cup victory came in the same tournament, when they defeated Russia 2-0. They went on to tie 2-2 with Belgium and to beat Tunisia 2-0, allowing Japan to advance to the round of 16. In the 2018 World Cup, Japan defeated Colombia 2-1 in the group stage, becoming the first ever Asian nation to beat a side from South America.

As it has grown to become a powerhouse of Asian football over the last few decades, the National Team has been extremely successful within Asian tournaments. Japan won the EAFF E-1 Football Championship for the second time in 2022, and went undefeated during the entire tournament. In 2019, Japan won the AFC Asian Cup for the fourth time, having previously won in 2011, 2004, 2000 and 1992. They beat Qatar 3-1 in the final.

Japan was also the first team from outside the Americas to play in the Copa America. While they only played in the 1999 and 2019 events, they were also invited in 2011 and 2015.

2022 World Cup – Matches

The National Team has a tough group stage ahead, facing two of the previous three World Cup champions in their group, Spain and Germany. Japan will be hoping to take points from Costa Rica, their third Group E opponent, though that team made the quarterfinals recently in 2014. Many have agreed that Japan’s group is the toughest in Qatar.

Interestingly, the Japan National Team includes eight players who are based in Germany, more than from any other national league. This wide-range of experience playing in Germany could be a massive advantage for the team. Many of the players understand German, are familiar with the German set-plays and also player characteristics. However, the same could be said for the opposition. Having a sizeable contingent of European-based players will also serve Japan well in its match against Spain.

The National Team’s group stage fixtures are as follows:

November 23: Japan vs. Germany (1 p.m. GMT, 8 a.m. EST, 10 p.m. JST) in the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha.
November 27: Japan vs. Costa Rica (10 a.m. GMT, 5 a.m. EST, 7 p.m. JST) in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
December 1: Japan vs. Spain (7 p.m. GMT, 2 p.m. EST, 4 a.m. (+1) JST) in the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Rayyan.

The top two finishers of these games will advance to the knockout stage.

How did Japan’s National Team Qualify for the World Cup?

The National Team had an impressive run up to the World Cup, standing it in good stead for the tough tournament ahead. 4.5 slots in total were available for Asian Football Confederation teams (4 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot). In their first round, Japan won all their games against Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Myanmar.

The second round was tougher. Two qualification spots were available for Saudi Arabia, Japan, Australia, Oman, China and Vietnam. While the National Team suffered a shocking home defeat to Oman and a loss to Saudi Arabia, Japan was still able to comfortably qualify by winning 7 of their 10 games.

The National Team’s performance over the 2022 summer period has also given fans many reasons to be excited. The team only narrowly lost 1-0 to Brazil, World Cup favorites, and beat Paraguay 4-1. In the lead up to the World Cup, they are currently on a five-win streak having defeated each of Hong Kong, China, South Korea, USA and Ecuador.

The National Team’s Supporters

The National Team has always been mindful to credit their supporters with all their success. As Japanese football has increased in popularity over the previous decades, the Samurai Blue supporters have grown exponentially. The supporters have also garnered an international reputation for their character, passion and their cleanliness.

In the 2018 World Cup, the Samurai Blue supporters made headlines around the world for picking up rubbish throughout the stadium with rubbish bags that they had brought themselves. This was not unusual for Japanese supporters, who have noted that this is a reflection of both football culture and Japanese culture in general.

During the 2022 World Cup, we can expect to see Samurai Blue fans wearing hachimaki, the traditional headbands that have a rising sun in the middle and often with words of encouragement on the sides. Many fans have also been known to bring spare headbands to hand out to other fans that they meet. This positive attitude and general excitement to support the team is a breath of fresh air compared to many other fan bases, who can be relatively cynical at times.