Kits
          Japan 1st Kit |      Japan 2nd Kit |
The Japan national football team in 2012, managed by head coach Alberto Zaccheroni, competed against international exhibition matches both at home and abroad and later in the third and fourth rounds of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. [1]
| Competition | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Friendly | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 |
| Total | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 9 |
Japan 1st Kit | Japan 2nd Kit |
International Friendly (2012 Kirin Challenge Cup)
| 24 February | Japan  | 3 – 1 |  Iceland | Osaka, Japan |
| 19:20 JST | Maeda  2'Fujimoto 53'Makino 79' | (JFA Report) | Smárason 90+3' (pen.) | Stadium: Nagai Stadium Attendance: 42,579 Referee: Chris Beath (Australia) |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Third Round
| 29 February | Japan | 0 – 1 |  Uzbekistan | Aichi, Japan |
| 19:30 JST | (JFA Report) | Shadrin 54' | Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 42,720 Referee: Abdullah Balideh (Qatar) |
International Friendly (2012 Kirin Challenge Cup)
| 23 May | Japan | 2 – 0 |  Azerbaijan | Shizuoka, Japan |
| 19:15 JST | Kagawa 43' Okazaki 58' | (JFA Report) | Stadium: Shizuoka Stadium Attendance: 30,276 Referee: Malik Abdul Bashir (Singapore) |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Fourth Round
| 3 June | Japan | 3 – 0 |  Oman | Saitama, Japan |
| 19:30 JST | Honda 11' Maeda 51'Okazaki 54' | (JFA Report) | Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 63,551 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Fourth Round
| 8 June | Japan | 6 – 0 |  Jordan | Saitama, Japan |
| 19:30 JST | Maeda 18' Honda 22', 31', 53' (pen.)Kagawa 35'Kurihara 89' | (FIFA Report) (JFA Report) | Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 60,874 Referee: Kim Dong Jin (Korea Republic) |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Fourth Round
| 12 June | Australia  | 1 - 1 | Japan | Brisbane, Australia |
| 20:00 UTC+10 | Milligan  25'  55'Wilkshire 69 pen' | Report | Kurihara 64' Kurihara 23' 89' | Stadium: Lang Park Attendance: 40,189 Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia) |
International Friendly (2012 Kirin Challenge Cup)
| 15 August | Japan | 1 - 1 |  Venezuela | Hokkaidō, Japan |
| 19:30 JST | Endō 15' | Summary | Miku 62' | Stadium: Sapporo Dome Attendance: 39,396 Referee: Min-Hu Lee (Korea Republic) |
International Friendly (2012 Kirin Challenge Cup)
| 6 September | Japan | 1 - 0 |  United Arab Emirates | Niigata, Japan |
| 19:20 JST | Havenaar 69' | Summary | Stadium: Tohoku Denryoku Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 42,020 Referee: Mingyu Ma (China PR) |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Fourth Round
| 11 September | Japan | 1 - 0 |  Iraq | Saitama, Japan |
| 19:34 JST | Maeda 25' | Report | Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 60,593 Referee: Malik Abdul Bashir (Singapore) |
| 12 October | France  | 0 - 1 | Japan | Saint-Denis, France |
| 21:00 UTC+2 | Report | Kagawa 88' | Stadium: Stade de France Referee: William Collum (Scotland) |
| 16 October | Japan | 0 - 4 |  Brazil |  Wrocław, Poland |
| 14:10 UTC+2 | Report | Paulinho 12' Neymar 25' (pk), 48'Kaká 76' | Stadium: Stadion Miejski Referee: Marcin Borski (Poland) |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Fourth Round
| 14 November | Oman | 1 – 2 | Japan | Muscat, Oman |
| 15:30 UTC+4 | Al Mahaijri 77' | Kiyotake 20' Okazaki 89' | Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Referee: Abdullah Balideh (Qatar) |
Win Draw Loss
| Player | -2011 | 02.24 | 02.29 | 05.23 | 06.03 | 06.08 | 06.12 | 08.15 | 09.06 | 09.11 | 10.12 | 10.16 | 11.14 | 2012 | Total |
| Yasuhito Endo | 113(9) | O | O | - | O | O | O | O(1) | O | O | O | O | O | 11(1) | 124(10) |
| Yuichi Komano | 67(1) | O | O | - | - | - | - | O | O | O | - | - | - | 5(0) | 72(1) |
| Kengo Nakamura | 56(6) | O | - | O | - | O | - | O | O | - | O | O | - | 7(0) | 63(6) |
| Yasuyuki Konno | 55(1) | O | O | - | O | O | O | - | - | - | O | O | O | 8(0) | 63(1) |
| Yoshito Okubo | 53(5) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 54(5) |
| Makoto Hasebe | 52(2) | - | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | 11(0) | 63(2) |
| Shinji Okazaki | 49(26) | - | O | O(1) | O(1) | O | O | O | O | O | - | - | O(1) | 9(3) | 58(29) |
| Atsuto Uchida | 45(1) | - | O | O | O | O | O | - | - | - | O | O | - | 7(0) | 52(1) |
| Yuto Nagatomo | 44(3) | - | O | O | O | O | O | O | - | O | O | O | O | 10(0) | 54(3) |
| Keisuke Honda | 31(8) | - | - | O | O(1) | O(3) | O | O | O | O | - | O | O | 9(4) | 40(12) |
| Shinji Kagawa | 28(9) | - | O | O(1) | O | O(1) | O | O | O | - | O(1) | O | - | 9(3) | 37(12) |
| Eiji Kawashima | 28(0) | - | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | 11(0) | 39(0) |
| Ryoichi Maeda | 16(6) | O(1) | - | O | O(1) | O(1) | O | O | - | O(1) | - | - | O | 8(4) | 24(10) |
| Maya Yoshida | 13(2) | - | O | - | O | O | - | O | O | O | O | O | O | 9(0) | 22(2) |
| Tadanari Lee | 10(2) | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 11(2) |
| Hajime Hosogai | 10(1) | - | - | O | O | - | - | O | O | O | O | O | O | 8(0) | 18(1) |
| Jungo Fujimoto | 10(0) | O(1) | O | - | - | - | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | 3(1) | 13(1) |
| Takayuki Morimoto | 9(3) | - | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 10(3) |
| Masahiko Inoha | 9(1) | O | - | O | - | O | O | O | O | O | - | - | - | 7(0) | 16(1) |
| Yuzo Kurihara | 8(0) | O | - | O | - | O(1) | O(1) | - | - | - | - | O | - | 5(2) | 13(2) |
| Tomoaki Makino | 8(0) | O(1) | - | O | - | - | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | 3(1) | 11(1) |
| Shusaku Nishikawa | 7(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 8(0) |
| Mike Havenaar | 5(2) | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | O(1) | O | O | - | - | 4(1) | 9(3) |
| Hiroshi Kiyotake | 5(0) | - | - | - | O | - | O | - | O | O | O | O | O(1) | 7(1) | 12(1) |
| Naohiro Ishikawa | 5(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 6(0) |
| Takashi Inui | 3(0) | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | O | O | - | 3(0) | 6(0) |
| Hiroki Mizumoto | 3(0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | O | O | - | - | - | - | 2(0) | 5(0) |
| Yosuke Kashiwagi | 3(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 4(0) |
| Ryota Moriwaki | 1(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 2(0) |
| Hiroki Sakai | 0(0) | - | - | O | O | - | O | - | O | - | O | O | O | 7(0) | 7(0) |
| Hideto Takahashi | 0(0) | - | - | O | - | - | - | - | O | - | O | - | O | 4(0) | 4(0) |
| Ryo Miyaichi | 0(0) | - | - | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | O | - | 2(0) | 2(0) |
| Gotoku Sakai | 0(0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | O | - | - | - | O | 2(0) | 2(0) |
| Chikashi Masuda | 0(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 1(0) |
| Junya Tanaka | 0(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 1(0) |
| Naoya Kondo | 0(0) | O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1(0) | 1(0) |
| Player | International Friendly | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keisuke Honda | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Ryoichi Maeda | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Shinji Kagawa | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Shinji Okazaki | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Yuzo Kurihara | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Jungo Fujimoto | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tomoaki Makino | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Yasuhito Endō | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Havenaar | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hiroshi Kiyotake | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The Japan national football team, also known by the nickname Samurai Blue, represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.
The North Korea national football team represents North Korea in men's international football and it is controlled by the DPR Korea Football Association, the governing body for Football in North Korea. The team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in international football and serves under the auspices of the country's Football Association.
The Turkmenistan national football team represents Turkmenistan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, the governing body for football in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's home ground is the Kopetdag Stadium and their head coach is Mergen Orazow. The team represents FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Bahrain national football team represents Bahrain in international football and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so. Bahrain won the FIFA's most improved team award in 2004, and finished fourth in the 2004 Asian Cup, beating Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals but losing to Japan in the semi-finals 4–3. Bahrain then lost to Iran in the third-place match, thus finishing in fourth place overall. Bahrain had a golden year in 2019, winning both the WAFF Championship and the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time, under the stewardship of Hélio Sousa.
The Kyrgyzstan national football team, officially recognised by FIFA and AFC as Kyrgyz Republic, represents Kyrgyzstan in international football and is controlled by the Kyrgyz Football Union, a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Central Asian Football Association.
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in senior international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Thailand.
The Chinese Taipei national football team represents Taiwan in international football and is controlled by the Chinese Taipei Football Association. Despite never qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, Chinese Taipei, then known as Republic of China, reached the semi-finals of the 1960 and 1968 AFC Asian Cups, finishing third in the former. The side also won gold at the 1954 and 1958 Asian Games, although the players in the team originated from British Hong Kong.
The Afghanistan national football team is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, they played their first international game against Iran in Kabul, 1941. Afghanistan then joined FIFA in 1948 and the AFC in 1954, as one of the founding members. They play their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. In 2013, Afghanistan won the 2013 SAFF Championship and earned the "FIFA Fair Play Award". Afghanistan has never qualified for the AFC Asian Cup.
The Palestine national football team, governed by the Palestinian Football Association, represents Palestine in association football. The squad is governed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continentally, and FIFA worldwide.
Imad Ali Suleiman Al-Hosni, commonly known as Imad Al-Hosni or Al-Amda, is an Omani footballer who last played for Fanja SC in the Oman Professional League. He has also played for the Oman national team.
This page records the details of the matches played by the Japan national football team during 2008. In 2008 the Japan national football team competed in the third and fourth round of the AFC 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications, the 2008 East Asian Cup Final, and the 2008 Kirin Cup, amongst other friendly matches.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths in the final tournament in Brazil. As in recent tournaments the AFC had four direct qualifiers for the finals tournament in addition to a further possible place via the intercontinental play-offs against CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, which was chosen through a random draw, rather than being decided by FIFA beforehand as in previous tournaments. Iran and South Korea from Group A, along with Australia and Japan from Group B won the 4 direct qualification positions, with Jordan defeating Uzbekistan in a play-off to see which team would face the 5th placed CONMEBOL team, Uruguay, for a place in the World Cup, eventually also failed to qualify for the competition.
This page records the details of the matches played by the Japan national football team during 2009. In 2009 the Japan national football team competed in the fourth round of the AFC 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, and the 2009 Kirin Cup, amongst other friendly matches.
The Japan national football team in 2010, managed by head coach Takeshi Okada, began by competing in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification and the 2010 East Asian Football Championship in amongst other international friendly matches in the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals where they would finish in 9th place. Afterwards the team, managed first by interim head coach Hiromi Hara and finally head coach Alberto Zaccheroni, would close out 2010 with several more international friendly matches as they prepared for the 2011 Asian Cup and the 2011 Copa América in the following year.
The Japan national football team in 2011, managed by head coach Alberto Zaccheroni, began by competing and winning the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. The win meant Japan were crowned the Champions of Asia for a record 4th time and earned a berth in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The team would continue by competing in the 2011 Kirin Cup and the 2011 Copa América in amongst other international friendly matches before closing out 2011 by commencing in the third round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification as they progress towards the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The Japan national football team in 2013, managed by head coach Alberto Zaccheroni, competed in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup and the fourth round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, in amongst international friendly matches both at home and abroad, as they progress towards the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Japanese football in 2013.
The Japan national football team in 2016, managed by head coach Vahid Halilhodžić compete in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round amongst international friendly matches at home.
The Japan national football team in 2023, managed by head coach Hajime Moriyasu, competed in different international friendly matches around the year both at home and abroad. The team participated in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with the first matches being played on November, according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.