Japan is one of the 32 teams that we will see in the World Cup in Qatar, and although they have fallen into one of the most difficult groups, we will surely see them compete at a good level, since they have quality players.
We are going to tell you the 10 curiosities of the Japanese team so that you can better understand the history of this team.
The Japanese participated in the 1998 World Cup, the 2002 World Cup as hosts, the 2006 World Cup, the 2010 World Cup, the 2014 World Cup and the 2018 World Cup. In the next World Cup to be held in Qatar, Japan will celebrate its seventh edition.
Japan is a country culturally very different from the rest of the West, and with deep-rooted pride in its sports and customs. That is why football came very late to the land of the rising sun. In 1998 they got their first classification and since then football has become one of the most popular sports.
Soccer in Japan owes a lot to the work of Yoichi Takahasi, as he sparked interest in the country for the sport. Many children began to practice at school and this caused many talents to emerge over the years. The work was released in 1981, but with different editions and animated series, it has lasted to this day to continue influencing young people.
Japan has never been able to get past the round of 16, they reached this phase three times, in 2002, 2010 and 2018. This year it will be difficult since they are in the same group as Spain and Germany.
Surprisingly, Japan has participated in the America’s Cup as a guest twice. The Asian team played in the 1999 and 2019 editions, although they could not get past the group stage.
After winning the Asian Cup, Japan qualified for the old Confederations Cup that faced the champion countries of all the federations. There the Japanese had a great tournament and after beating Brazil in the group stage and Australia in the semifinals, they reached the final against France where they lost by the minimum.
Between 1964 and 1977, Kamamoto became a legend in Japan. He was the best Japanese player and to this day his record has been maintained, being the top scorer for the Asian team with 75 goals in 76 games.
The historic player wore the Japanese national team shirt 122 times. The second in this record is Okazaki, who with 116 and still active, could surpass him, although he is no longer at his best level.
The clashes between Korea and Japan are usually of high intensity, since it leads to the historical rivalry between the two nations that have always maintained warlike conflicts.
The country of the rising sun has become an important team within the Asian region, where it has managed to win the Asian Cup four times, first in 1992, then in 2000, in 2004 and in 2011. They also won two Afro-Asian Cups, in 1993 and 2007.
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