Japan at the AFC Asian Cup

Japan at association football cup tournament

Since the 1988 tournament, Japan has qualified for ten consecutive AFC Asian Cups from 1992 to 2027. Japan is also the most successful team in the tournament, with four titles.

Despite being a current football powerhouse in Asia, Japan was not considered a continental football power until 1988. Outside the 1968 Summer Olympics shock, Japan had been regarded as a weak team in the continent. In fact, Japan had missed eight first editions before qualifying in 1988. Yet, in qualifying for the 1988 edition, combined with hosting the 1992 AFC Asian Cup, Japanese football grew rapidly and soon replaced traditional powerhouses like South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia as the emerging and eventually, a dominant football power in Asia, although the recent rise of Australia has posed a challenge for Japan's dominant position.

## Overall record

[edit]

AFC Asian Cup record  |  | Qualification record

|
|

Year  | Result  | Position  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA
1956 | Withdrew | Withdrew
1960
1964
1968 | Did not qualify | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4
1972 | Withdrew | Withdrew
1976 | Did not qualify | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4
1980 | Withdrew | Withdrew
1984
1988 | Group stage | 10th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6  | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3
1992 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | Qualified as hosts
1996 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3  | Qualified as defending champions
2000 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0
2004 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | Qualified as defending champions
2007 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2
2011 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 4
2015 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1  | Qualified as defending champions
2019 | Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0
2023 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 2
2027 | Qualified | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0
Total | 4 Titles | 11/19 | 53 | 33 | 12 | 8 | 104 | 52  | 50 | 41 | 4 | 5 | 162 | 19

## 1988 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 1988 AFC Asian Cup

Japan made debut at 1988 Asian Cup and it was the historical achievement that would put milestone for Japan to envision and develop its football, which was then-limited in amateur football.[1] In the whole tournament however, Japan ended up finishing last, with just one draw and three defeats, scoring zero goal and conceded six goals.

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 1988 AFC Asian Cup

* 1 Tsuchida
* 2 Ueno
* 3 Horiike
* 4 Taguchi
* 5 Sakakura
* 6 Motoyoshi
* 7 Ihara
* 8 Otake
* 9 Shirasawa
* 10 Oenoki
* 11 Ikenoue
* 12 Nakayama
* 13 Kurosaki
* 14 Noda
* 15 Minoguchi
* 16 Maeda
* 17 Sukigara
* 18 Matsuyama
* 19 Sanada
* 20 Takagi
* Coach: Yokoyama

Team  | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

South Korea | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7
Iran | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0
Qatar | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1
United Arab Emirates | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | −2
Japan | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6

4 December 1988

15:00

Japan | 0–0|  Iran

|
|

| Report |

Qatar SC Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 4,000

Referee: Samuel Chan (Hong Kong)

* * *

6 December 1988

15:00

South Korea | 2–0|  Japan

|
|

Hwang Sun-Hong 13'
Kim Joo-Sung 35' | Report |

Qatar SC Stadium, Doha

Referee: Salah Mohammed (Iraq)

* * *

10 December 1988

15:00

United Arab Emirates | 1–0|  Japan

|
|

A.A. Mohamed 86' | Report |

Al-Ahly Stadium, Doha

Referee: Ahmad Bash (Jordan)

* * *

12 December 1988

17:00

Japan | 0–3|  Qatar

|
|

| Report | Khamis 58', 82'
Muftah 90'

Al-Ahly Stadium, Doha

Referee: Yusuf Namoğlu (Turkey)

Although it was not a successful tournament, qualifying to the Asian Cup had been the source of Japan's football renaissance in the country, and subsequent tournaments later would have proven this.

## 1992 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 1992 AFC Asian Cup

Japan was the host of the 1992 tournament, and placed together with North Korea, Iran and the UAE. Japan was expected to pass through semi-finals only, however Japan had done even better than that.

Japan opened their account with two draws against the UAE and North Korea, before winning the first ever match in the Asian Cup, 1–0, over Iran, effectively eliminated Iran and North Korea. Japan kept firing by a 3–2 thrilling victory over China, before defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final. With the win, Japan claimed their first Asian title, marked the begin of a new Asian football power that would have a huge consequence for the next years.[2]

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 1992 AFC Asian Cup winners (1st title)

* 1 Matsunaga
* 2 Otake
* 3 Katsuya
* 4 Horiike
* 5 Hashiratani
* 6 Tsunami
* 7 Ihara
* 8 Fukuda
* 9 Takeda
* 10 Ramos
* 11 Miura
* 12 Yamada
* 13 Sakakura
* 14 Kitazawa
* 15 Yoshida
* 16 Nakayama
* 17 Moriyasu
* 18 Jinno
* 19 Maekawa
* 20 Takagi
* Coach: Ooft

Team  | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Japan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
United Arab Emirates | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
Iran | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1
North Korea | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3

30 October 1992

19:00

Japan | 0–0|  United Arab Emirates

|
|

| Report |

Bingo Sports Park, Onomichi

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Wei Jihong (China)

* * *

1 November 1992

14:00

Japan | 1–1|  North Korea

|
|

Nakayama 80' | Report | Kim Gwang-Min 29' (pen.)

Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima

Attendance: 32,000

Referee: Rasheed Al-Jassas (Kuwait)

* * *

3 November 1992

14:00

Japan | 1–0|  Iran

|
|

Miura 87' | Report |

Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima

Attendance: 37,000

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Semi-finals

6 November 1992

16:30

Japan | 3–2|  China

|
|

Fukuda 48'
Kitazawa 57'
Nakayama 84' | Report | Xie Yuxin 1'
Li Xiao 70'

Hiroshima Stadium, Hiroshima

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Hossein Khoshkhan (Iran)

Final

8 November 1992

14:30

Japan | 1–0|  Saudi Arabia

|
|

Takagi 36' | Report |

Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

Ironically, in spite of the victory, Japan failed to qualify for 1994 World Cup, despite being Asian champion, and Hans Ooft, the manager who helped Japan win maiden Asian Cup, was fired later after the failure.

## 1996 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 1996 AFC Asian Cup

Having won the previous edition, Japan was expected to become a contender for the Asian title twice. That's said, however, Japan's performance turned to be a great disappointment. Japan won all three matches in the group stage against Syria, China and Uzbekistan and won the group with full nine points. Even though their group stage performances were impressive, the quarter-final match against Kuwait proved to be a disaster when they lost 0–2, eventually ended Japan's hope to defend the title.

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 1996 AFC Asian Cup

* 1 Kojima
* 2 Yanagimoto
* 3 Soma
* 4 Ihara
* 5 Omura
* 6 Yamaguchi
* 7 Honda
* 8 Maezono
* 9 Takagi
* 10 Nanami
* 11 Miura
* 12 Michiki
* 13 Hattori
* 14 Okano
* 15 Morishima
* 16 Saito
* 17 Akita
* 18 Jo
* 19 Shimokawa
* 20 Narazaki
* Coach: Kamo

Team  | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Japan | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6
China | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0
Syria | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3
Uzbekistan | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3

6 December 1996

16:45

Japan | 2–1|  Syria

|
|

Abbas 85' (o.g.)
Takagi 88' | Report | Jokhadar 8'

Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Mohd Nazri Abdullah (Malaysia)

* * *

9 December 1996

16:45

Japan | 4–0|  Uzbekistan

|
|

Nanami 7'
Miura 37'
Maezono 86', 90' | Report |

Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: Jalal Moradi (Iran)

* * *

12 December 1996

16:45

Japan | 1–0|  China

|
|

Soma 90' | Report |

Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Abdul Rahman Al-Zeid (Saudi Arabia)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

15 December 1996

19:30

Kuwait | 2–0|  Japan

|
|

Al-Huwaidi 17', 54' | Report |

Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Pirom Un-Prasert (Thailand)

Manager Shu Kamo was allowed to keep his job, but 1998 World Cup qualification under his tenure was not successful and he was replaced by Takeshi Okada, his assistant, for the remaining crucial matches. Japan would have qualified to the World Cup for the first time.

## 2000 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2000 AFC Asian Cup

Japan came to Lebanon 2000 with high hope to win the Asian Cup, having participated in their maiden World Cup in France. In there, Japan was placed with defending champions Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Uzbekistan. For Japan, the tournament was seen as perpetration for 2002 World Cup to be held in their home soil.

Japan proved to be so strong when they demolished defending champion Saudi Arabia 4–1 and Uzbekistan 8–1. After two matches, Japan drew Qatar 1–1. Qatar would go on to be the only team that didn't lose to Japan in the tournament. Japan kept on their impressive running by beating Iraq 4–1, China 3–2 before won the final against Saudi Arabia for the second times, 1–0. Japan claimed their second title and had officially established themselves as a new Asian football powerhouse.[3]

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2000 AFC Asian Cup winners (2nd title)

* 1 Kawaguchi
* 3 Matsuda
* 4 Morioka
* 6 Hattori
* 8 Mochizuki
* 9 Nishizawa
* 10 Nanami
* 11 Miura
* 12 Morishima
* 13 Yanagisawa
* 14 Nakamura
* 15 Oku
* 17 Inamoto
* 19 Kubo
* 20 Takakuwa
* 21 Shimoda
* 22 Nakazawa
* 24 Myojin
* 26 Kaimoto
* 27 Kitajima
* 29 Takahara
* 30 Ono
* Coach: Troussier

Team  | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Japan | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10
Saudi Arabia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2
Qatar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0
Uzbekistan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12

14 October 2000

17:00

Saudi Arabia | 1–4|  Japan

|
|

Morioka 90' (o.g.) | Report | Yanagisawa 22'
Takahara 37'
Nanami 53'
Ono 88'

Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

* * *

17 October 2000

17:00

Japan | 8–1|  Uzbekistan

|
|

Morishima 7'
Nishizawa 14', 25', 49'
Takahara 18', 20', 57'
Kitajima 79' | Report | Lushan 29'

Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)

* * *

20 October 2000

19:30

Japan | 1–1|  Qatar

|
|

Nishizawa 61' | Report | Al-Obaidly 22'

Sports City Stadium, Beirut

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Nabil Ayad (Lebanon)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

24 October 2000

16:45

Japan | 4–1|  Iraq

|
|

Nanami 8', 29'
Takahara 11'
Myojin 62' | Report | A. Obeid 4'

Sports City Stadium, Beirut

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Tajaddin Fares (Syria)

Semi-finals

26 October 2000

19:45

China | 2–3|  Japan

|
|

Qi Hong 30'
Yang Chen 48' | Report | Fan Zhiyi 21' (o.g.)
Nishizawa 53'
Myojin 61'

Sports City Stadium, Beirut

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)

Final

29 October 2000

19:45

Japan | 1–0|  Saudi Arabia

|
|

Mochizuki 30' | Report |

Sports City Stadium, Beirut

Attendance: 47,400

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (UAE)

This impressive running in 2000 Asian Cup proved to be useful for Japan two years later, when Japan passed through the group stage for the first time, before losing to later third-place Turkey 0–1 in the round of sixteen.

## 2004 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2004 AFC Asian Cup

Japan, having established themselves as a football powerhouse in the continent, was placed in Group D with Iran, Thailand and debutant Oman. Japan, however, had a hard beginning with just a 1–0 win to Oman, before demolished Thailand 4–1 next. Japan, like 2000 edition, drew the last match with Iran 0–0 and qualified to the quarter-finals when they faced up another debutant, Jordan. Jordan however proved to be a tough team when they held on Japan for 120 minutes with a 1–1 draw, before Japan won on the penalty shootout. In the semi-finals, Japan also needed 120 minutes to defeat another Arab team, Bahrain, in a 4–3 thriller.

In the final, Japan faced host China, and despite being thought to be even much harder than with Jordan and Bahrain since China was the host, Japan surprisingly defeated China 3–1 in just 90 minutes, including a hand goal from Koji Nakata, which was controversial aftermath. Thus, Japan for the second times won the title, continued to be the dominant force in Asia.

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2004 AFC Asian Cup winners (3rd title)

* 1 Narazaki
* 3 Tanaka
* 4 Endō
* 5 Miyamoto (c)
* 6 Nakata
* 8 Ogasawara
* 10 Nakamura
* 11 Suzuki
* 12 Doi
* 14 Alex
* 15 Fukunishi
* 16 Fujita
* 17 Miura
* 18 Matsuda
* 19 Motoyama
* 20 Tamada
* 21 Kaji
* 22 Nakazawa
* 23 Kawaguchi
* 24 Nishi
* 25 Chano
* 26 Yamada
* Coach: Zico

Team  | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Japan | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4
Iran | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3
Oman | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1
Thailand | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8

20 July 2004

18:00

Japan | 1–0|  Oman

|
|

Nakamura 33' | Report |

Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

* * *

24 July 2004

20:30

Thailand | 1–4|  Japan

|
|

Suksomkit 12' | Report | Nakamura 21'
Nakazawa 57', 87'
Fukunishi 68'

Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing

Attendance: 45,000

Referee: Fareed Al-Marzouqi (UAE)

* * *

28 July 2004

18:15

Japan | 0–0|  Iran

|
|

| Report |

Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing

Attendance: 52,000

Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

31 July 2004

18:00

Japan | 1–1 (a.e.t.)|  Jordan

|
|

Suzuki 14' | Report | Shelbaieh 11'
Penalties
Nakamura
Alex
Fukunishi
Nakata
Suzuki
Nakazawa
Miyamoto | 4–3 |  Abu Zema
Al-Awadat
Aqel
Al-Shboul
Ibrahim
Al-Zboun
Bani Yaseen

Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing

Attendance: 52,000

Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

Semi-finals

3 August 2004

18:00

Bahrain | 3–4 (a.e.t.)|  Japan

|
|

A. Hubail 7', 71'
Naser 85' | Report | Nakata 48'
Tamada 55', 93'
Nakazawa 90'

Shandong Sports Center, Jinan

Attendance: 32,000

Referee: Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)

Final

7 August 2004

20:00

China | 1–3|  Japan

|
|

Li Ming 31' | Report | Fukunishi 22'
Nakata 65'
Tamada 90+1'

Workers Stadium, Beijing

Attendance: 62,000

Referee: Saad Kamil Al-Fadhli (Kuwait)

## 2007 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2007 AFC Asian Cup

In the next editions, Japan seemed to be placed in a much easier group than three years ago, when Japan was drawn with host Vietnam, Qatar and the UAE. Qatar and the UAE had also won 2006 Asian Games and 18th Arabian Gulf Cup, effectively putting Japan on board with two other champions outside host Vietnam.

However, Japan opened their accounts unimpressive with just a 1–1 draw to Qatar, which made Ivica Osim to label his players as "amateur". Japan went on to beat the UAE 3–1 and Vietnam 4–1, the latter would join Japan into the quarter-finals. Japan later took vengeance on Australia by defeating the Socceroos 4–3 in the penalty shootout in Hanoi. However, within the same stuff, Japan lost to eventual runners-up Saudi Arabia 2–3 and had to play the third-place match, when they lost on penalty shootout this time, 5–6, to rival South Korea.

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2007 AFC Asian Cup fourth place

* 1 Kawaguchi (c)
* 2 Konno
* 3 Komano
* 5 Tsuboi
* 6 Abe
* 7 Endō
* 8 Hanyu
* 9 Yamagishi
* 10 S. Nakamura
* 11 Satō
* 12 Maki
* 13 Suzuki
* 14 K. Nakamura
* 15 Mizuno
* 18 Narazaki
* 19 Takahara
* 20 Yano
* 21 Kaji
* 22 Nakazawa
* 23 Kawashima
* 24 Hashimoto
* 28 Ota
* 29 Inoha
* Coach: Osim

Main article: 2007 AFC Asian Cup Group B

Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7
Vietnam | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4
United Arab Emirates | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3
Qatar | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2

9 July 2007

17:15 UTC+7

Japan | 1–1|  Qatar

|
|

Takahara 61' | Report | Soria 88'

Mỹ Đình Stadium, Hanoi

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia)

* * *

13 July 2007

20:30 UTC+7

United Arab Emirates | 1–3|  Japan

|
|

Al-Kass 66' | Report | Takahara 22', 27'
S. Nakamura 42' (pen.)

Mỹ Đình Stadium, Hanoi

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Satop Tongkhan (Thailand)

* * *

16 July 2007

17:15 UTC+7

Vietnam | 1–4|  Japan

|
|

Suzuki 8' (o.g.) | Report | Maki 12', 59'
Endō 31'
S. Nakamura 53'

Mỹ Đình Stadium, Hanoi

Attendance: 40,000

Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

21 July 2007

17:15 UTC+7

Japan | 1–1 (a.e.t.)|  Australia

|
|

Takahara 72' | Report | Aloisi 70'
Penalties
Nakamura
Endō
Komano
Takahara
Nakazawa | 4–3 |  Kewell
Neill
Cahill
Carle
Carney

Mỹ Đình Stadium, Hanoi

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Saad Kamil Al-Fadhli (Kuwait)

Semi-finals

25 July 2007

20:15 UTC+7

Japan | 2–3|  Saudi Arabia

|
|

Nakazawa 37'
Abe 53' | Report | Y. Al-Qahtani 35'
Mouath 47', 57'

Mỹ Đình Stadium, Hanoi

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia)

Third-place match

28 July 2007

19:30 UTC+7

South Korea | 0–0 (a.e.t.)|  Japan

|
|

| Report |
Penalties
Cho Jae-Jin
Oh Beom-Seok
Lee Chun-Soo
Lee Ho
Kim Jin-Kyu
Kim Chi-Woo | 6–5 |  S. Nakamura
Endō
Abe
Komano
Nakazawa
Hanyu

Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Ali Al-Badwawi (United Arab Emirates)

## 2011 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup

After just won 4th place four years before, Japan had to take part on the qualification round, where they won first to qualify for the tournament. Once again, Japan was placed with Saudi Arabia, alongside Jordan and Syria, both had not participated four years ago.

However, Japan was stunned by Jordan after just a 1–1 draw, drew criticisms from the fans and coach Alberto Zaccheroni had to change tactics to suit the situation. The match with Syria had also drawn criticisms later due to poor performance of Japanese players, despite winning 2–1. Nonetheless, these criticisms vanished when Japan destroyed Saudi Arabia 5–0 to march into the quarter-finals facing host Qatar.

In the quarter-final match, Japan suffered even a red card and two goals-lead by Qatar, but in the end Japan fought back and won 3–2, eliminated host Qatar from the tournament. Japan would make up meeting with old rival South Korea, where they drew 2–2 after 120 minutes before winning 3–0 on penalty shootout and went into the final.

In the final, Japan met Asia's no.1 ranking team, Australia. Nonetheless, despite heavy pressures from the Socceroos, Japan withstood and at the extra time, Tadanari Lee scored the only goal in the match, helping Japan to claim the title for the fourth times, became the most successful team in the tournament's history.[4]

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2011 AFC Asian Cup winners (4th title)

* 1 Kawashima
* 2 Inoha
* 3 Iwamasa
* 4 Konno
* 5 Nagatomo
* 6 Uchida
* 7 Endō
* 8 Matsui
* 9 Okazaki
* 10 Kagawa
* 11 Maeda
* 12 Moriwaki
* 13 Hosogai
* 14 Fujimoto
* 15 T. Honda
* 16 Kashiwagi
* 17 Hasebe (c)
* 18 K. Honda
* 19 Lee
* 20 Nagata
* 21 Nishikawa
* 22 Yoshida
* 23 Gonda
* Coach: Zaccheroni

Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group B

Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7
Jordan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7
Syria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3
Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0
|  |

|
|

9 January 2011
Japan | 1–1 |  Jordan
13 January 2011
Syria | 1–2 |  Japan
17 January 2011
Saudi Arabia | 0–5 |  Japan

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

21 January 2011

16:30

Japan | 3–2|  Qatar

|
|

Kagawa 29', 71'
Inoha 89' | Report | Soria 13'
Fábio César 63'

Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 19,479

Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

Semi-finals

25 January 2011

16:30

Japan | 2–2 (a.e.t.)|  South Korea

|
|

Maeda 36'
Hosogai 97' | Report | Ki Sung-Yueng 23' (pen.)
Hwang Jae-Won 120'
Penalties
K. Honda
Okazaki
Nagatomo
Konno | 3–0 |  Koo Ja-Cheol
Lee Yong-Rae
Hong Jeong-Ho

Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 16,171

Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)

Final

29 January 2011

18:00

Australia | 0–1 (a.e.t.)|  Japan

|
|

| Report | Lee 109'

Khalifa International Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 37,174

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Keisuke Honda was awarded as the most valuable player in the tournament.

## 2015 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2015 AFC Asian Cup

Having won four titles, Japan was considered as the contender for the next title in the 2015 Asian Cup, where they were drawn with debutant Palestine, 2011 rival Jordan and former champion Iraq. With experiences, Japan was not hard to dominate the group stage.[5] Japan defeated Palestine 4–0, Iraq 1–0 and Jordan 2–0 to win the group with full nine points and no goal conceded.[6] This led to popular belief that Japan would have won the tournament again. However, the quarter-final encounter over the UAE was a shocking humiliation, when they just earned a 1–1 draw to the Gulf side after 120 minutes before losing 4–5 on the penalty shootout.[7] The UAE would go on to win bronze medal in the tournament. It was Japan's worst finish ever since 1996.

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2015 AFC Asian Cup

* 1 Kawashima
* 2 Ueda
* 3 Ota
* 4 Honda
* 5 Nagatomo
* 6 Morishige
* 7 Endō
* 8 Kiyotake
* 9 Okazaki
* 10 Kagawa
* 11 Toyoda
* 12 Nishikawa
* 13 Kobayashi
* 14 Muto
* 15 Konno
* 16 Shiotani
* 17 Hasebe (c)
* 18 Inui
* 19 Shoji
* 20 Shibasaki
* 21 Sakai
* 22 Yoshida
* 23 Higashiguchi
* Coach: Aguirre

Main article: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group D

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Japan | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 7  | 0  | +7  | 9  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Iraq | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 3  | 1  | +2  | 6
3  |  Jordan | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 5  | 4  | +1  | 3  |
4  |  Palestine | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 1  | 11  | −10  | 0

Source: Asian Cup Australia 2015
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

|  |

|
|

12 January 2015
Japan | 4–0 |  Palestine | Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
16 January 2015
Iraq | 0–1 |  Japan | Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
20 January 2015
Japan | 2–0 |  Jordan | AAMI Park, Melbourne

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

23 January 2015

20:30 AEDT (UTC+11)

Japan | 1–1 (a.e.t.)|  United Arab Emirates

|
|

Shibasaki 81' | Report | Mabkhout 7'
Penalties
Honda
Hasebe
Shibasaki
Toyoda
Morishige
Kagawa | 4–5 |  O. Abdulrahman
Mabkhout
Esmaeel
Hassan
Fardan
I. Ahmed

Stadium Australia, Sydney

Attendance: 19,094

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

## 2019 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Japan made their ninth appearance in the Asian Cup after they were drawn with Uzbekistan, Oman and Turkmenistan. As usual, Japan was regarded as one of the favourite teams to win the tournament.

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2019 AFC Asian Cup runners-up

* 1 Higashiguchi
* 2 Miura
* 3 Muroya
* 4 Sasaki
* 5 Nagatomo
* 6 Endo
* 7 Shibasaki
* 8 Haraguchi
* 9 Minamino
* 10 Inui
* 11 Kitagawa
* 12 Gonda
* 13 Muto
* 14 Itō
* 15 Osako
* 16 Tomiyasu
* 17 Aoyama
* 18 Shiotani
* 19 Sakai
* 20 Makino
* 21 Dōan
* 22 Yoshida (c)
* 23 Schmidt
* Coach: Moriyasu

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group F

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Japan | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 6  | 3  | +3  | 9  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Uzbekistan | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 7  | 3  | +4  | 6
3  |  Oman | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 4  | 4  | 0  | 3
4  |  Turkmenistan | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 3  | 10  | −7  | 0  |

Source: AFC

9 January 2019 (2019-01-09)

15:00

Japan | 3–2|  Turkmenistan

|
|

* Osako 56', 60'
* Dōan 71'

| Report |

* Amanow 26'
* Ataýew 79' (pen.)

Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 5,725

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

* * *

13 January 2019 (2019-01-13)

17:30

Oman | 0–1|  Japan

|
|

| Report |

* Haraguchi 28' (pen.)

Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 12,110

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

* * *

17 January 2019 (2019-01-17)

17:30

Japan | 2–1|  Uzbekistan

|
|

* Muto 43'
* Shiotani 58'

| Report |

* Shomurodov 40'

Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 7,005

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

* * *

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Round of 16

21 January 2019 (2019-01-21)

15:00

Japan | 1–0|  Saudi Arabia

|
|

* Tomiyasu 20'

| Report |

Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Attendance: 6,832

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

* * *

Quarter-finals

24 January 2019 (2019-01-24)

17:00

Vietnam | 0–1|  Japan

|
|

| Report |

* Dōan 57' (pen.)

Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 8,954

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

* * *

Semi-finals

28 January 2019 (2019-01-28)

18:00

Iran | 0–3|  Japan

|
|

| Report |

* Osako 56', 67' (pen.)
* Haraguchi 90+1'

Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 23,262

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

* * *

Final

1 February 2019 (2019-02-01)

18:00

Japan | 1–3|  Qatar

|
|

* Minamino 69'

| Report |

* Ali 12'
* Hatem 27'
* Ak. Afif 83' (pen.)

Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 36,776[8]

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

## 2023 AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup

* v
* t
* e

Japan squad – 2023 AFC Asian Cup

* 1 Maekawa
* 2 Sugawara
* 3 Taniguchi
* 4 Itakura
* 5 Morita
* 6 Endō (c)
* 7 Mitoma
* 8 Minamino
* 9 Ueda
* 10 Dōan
* 11 Hosoya
* 12 Nozawa
* 13 Nakamura
* 14 J. Itō
* 15 Machida
* 16 Maikuma
* 17 Hatate
* 18 Asano
* 19 Nakayama
* 20 Kubo
* 21 H. Itō
* 22 Tomiyasu
* 23 Suzuki
* 24 Watanabe
* 25 Maeda
* 26 Sano
* Coach: Moriyasu

### Group D

[edit]

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group D

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Iraq | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 8  | 4  | +4  | 9  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Japan | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 8  | 5  | +3  | 6
3  |  Indonesia | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 3  | 6  | −3  | 3
4  |  Vietnam | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 4  | 8  | −4  | 0  |

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

14 January 2024 (2024-01-14)

14:30

Japan | 4–2|  Vietnam

|
|

* Minamino 11', 45'
* Nakamura 45+4'
* Ueda 85'

| Report |

* Nguyễn Đình Bắc 16'
* Phạm Tuấn Hải 33'

Al Thumama Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 17,385

Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

* * *

19 January 2024 (2024-01-19)

14:30

Iraq | 2–1|  Japan

|
|

* Hussein 5', 45+4'

| Report |

* Endō 90+3'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 38,663

Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)

* * *

24 January 2024 (2024-01-24)

14:30

Japan | 3–1|  Indonesia

|
|

* Ueda 6' (pen.), 52'
* Hubner 88' (o.g.)

| Report | Walsh 90+1'

Al Thumama Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 26,453

Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Main article: 2023 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage

#### Round of 16

[edit]

31 January 2024 (2024-01-31)

14:30

Bahrain | 1–3|  Japan

|
|

* Ueda 64' (o.g.)

| Report |

* Dōan 31'
* Kubo 49'
* Ueda 72'

Al Thumama Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 31,832

Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

#### Quarter-finals

[edit]

3 February 2024 (2024-02-03)

14:30

Iran | 2–1|  Japan

|
|

* Mohebi 55'
* Jahanbakhsh 90+6' (pen.)

| Report |

* Morita 28'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 35,640

Referee: Ma Ning (China)

## See also

[edit]

* Japan at the Copa América
* Japan at the FIFA World Cup

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Japan National Team » Squad Asian Cup 1988 Qatar". worldfootball.net. World Football. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
2. ^ "Asian Cup: Know Your History - Part Two (1992-2007)". goal.com. Goal. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
3. ^ "A tournament like no other". the-afc.com. The Asian Football Confederation. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
4. ^ "Asian Cup: Japan Is on the Up". The New York Times. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
5. ^ "2015 Asian Cup team profile: Japan - Asian Cup 2015". abc.net.au. ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 4 December 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
6. ^ "Asian Cup 2015: Japan and Iraq progress to quarter-finals with wins | Football". theguardian.com. The Guardian. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
7. ^ "United Arab Emirates shock Japan to set up Asian Cup semi-final with Socceroos". smh.com.au. The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
8. ^ "AFC Asian Cup, match report: Japan 1–3 Qatar". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Countries at the AFC Asian Cup

* Team appearances

AFF|

* Australia
* Cambodia
* Indonesia
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Vietnam1

CAFA|

* Iran
* Kyrgyzstan
* Tajikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

EAFF|

* China
* Chinese Taipei
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* North Korea
* South Korea

SAFF|

* Bangladesh
* India

WAFF|

* Bahrain
* Iraq
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Oman
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Former|

* Israel2
* South Yemen3

1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under other name(s). 2 Israel was a member of the AFC until 1974. 3 Recognized by FIFA as defunct.

* v
* t
* e

Japan national football team

General|

* Japan Football Association (JFA)
* History
* Managers

Venues|

* Japan National Stadium
* Saitama Stadium 2002

Statistics|

* All-time match results
* Records and statistics
* Head-to-head record
* Hat-tricks
* All-time goalscorers

Players|

* Players (by caps)
* Other players
* Captains

Goals|

* Kunishige Kamamoto

World Cup Finals|

* Summary
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

AFC Asian Cup Finals|

* Summary
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2007
* 2011
* 2015
* 2019
* 2023
* 2027

Other tournaments|

* EAFF E-1 Football Championship
* East Asian Games
* Asian Games
* Olympics
* Copa América
* FIFA Confederations Cup

Culture|

* Rivalries
* South Korea
* China
* North Korea
* Australia
* Saudi Arabia
* Iran
* Agony of Doha

Other JFA teams|

* Men's
* U-17
* U-20
* U-23
* Women's
* U-17
* U-20
* U-23
* Futsal
* U-20
* women's
* Beach soccer
* Esports

## Head-to-head record

[edit]

Opponent  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win %

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Australia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1  | 050.00
Bahrain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3  | 100.00
China | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | +5  | 100.00
Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2  | 100.00
Iran | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3  | 040.00
Iraq | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3  | 066.67
Jordan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2  | 033.33
Kuwait | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2  | 000.00
North Korea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0  | 000.00
Oman | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2  | 100.00
Palestine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4  | 100.00
Qatar | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4  | 020.00
Saudi Arabia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | +10  | 083.33
South Korea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2  | 000.00
Syria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2  | 100.00
Thailand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3  | 100.00
Turkmenistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1  | 100.00
United Arab Emirates | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1  | 025.00
Uzbekistan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12  | 100.00
Vietnam | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6  | 100.00
Total  | 53 | 33 | 12 | 8 | 104 | 52 | +52  | 062.26
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[Pos]: Position