The first time the Japan National Team played an African team, it was against Ghana. They met at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, with Ghana winning 3-2 in their first appearance and both sides went on to reach the quarterfinals. Since then, they have played a total of seven times, the most of any African nation that Japan has played, with Ghana holding the advantage with four wins and three losses. In the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2018, held just before the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) departed for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, Ghana won 2-0 at International Stadium Yokohama, which was the first match played by Japan since Coach NISHINO Akira took over the helm.

This year's FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will be their fourth appearance in the FIFA World Cup™, behind African rivals Cameroon (eight times) and Nigeria (six times), but they have showcased impressive performances in each of their last three appearances. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, they reached the round of 16 in their first ever appearance. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, they came close to becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals but were narrowly beaten by Uruguay in a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals. Even at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, where they were eliminated in the group stage, they were the only team to take a point off the eventual champions Germany (2-2 draw).

Having failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, the team will now compete in the World Cup for the first time since 2014 after a hard-fought qualifier. In the second round of the African qualifiers, they narrowly edged South Africa by a mere goal, after the two sides were level on points and goal difference. In the final round against Nigeria, Ghana drew both home and away matches, but managed to advance through with their advantage in away goals scored.

In March this year, interim coach Otto ADDO took charge of the final qualification round, but it was officially announced in May that the team would play the World Cup in Qatar under his leadership. After failing to qualify for Russia, the squad has undergone a major overhaul. There are high hopes for the emergence of undiscovered talents who will play an active role at this World Cup. For example, their striker Felix AFENA-GYAN (AS Roma/Italy) is only 19 years old. Technician Kamaldeen SULEMANA (Stade Rennais/France) is also only 20 years old.

There are also players who have ties with Japanese players, such as Christopher ANTWI-ADJEI, who is a teammate of ASANO Takuma at VfL Bochum (Germany), Joseph PAINTSIL who plays with ITO Junya at KRC Genk (Belgium), and Iddrisu BABA, who plays for RCD Mallorca (Spain) with KUBO Takefusa.

FIFA Ranking: 60th *As of 31 March 2022
FIFA World Cup™ Appearance: 3 times, 2006 (Round of 16), 2010 (Quarterfinals), 2014

Date/Venue:
Fri. 10 June/Noevir Stadium Kobe (Hyogo)
Tue. 14 June/Panasonic Stadium Suita (Osaka)

Tournament Information

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