Path to the World Cup

Japan beat Uzbekistan 1-0 and were the first team through for the second time in a row.  Shunji Okazaki claimed the only goal of the game after nine minutes.  Successfully reaching the final stage of the Asian Zone they qualified for World Cup 2010. Japan won four and lost only one of their eight matches; three were a tie. 

History

Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. This raised awareness of the sport in Japan but without a professional league it had to wait 30 years before qualifying for the World Cup.  In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to re-form as the professional league. This strengthened the national team. With the start of the new league in 1993, interest in football and the national team grew.  Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. Despite a 2-2 tie with Belgium in their opening game, the Japanese team reached the second round with a 1-0 win over Russia and a 2-0 victory against Tunisia. However, they had to leave, after losing 1-0 to Turkey.

Star Players

Japan's biggest star is Shunsuke Nakamura. Another major player is midfielder Keisuke Honda.  Leading from the back is 31 year-old defensive Yuji Nakazawa.

Coach

Takeshi Okada is widely considered to be one of the best Japanese strategists around. He was the leader during the team's first World Cup appearance at France 1998.