Japan: The Asian champions and the first to qualify for the World Cup

Japan’s national football team was the first to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, achieved immediately before the start of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. With their 2-0 victory over North Korea in Thailand’s capital Bangkok the Nippon team ensured their 2006 FIFA World Cup participation, and became the first team to join the hosts Germany. Thus the Asian champions will play their third successive World Cup finals, since making their debut in France 1998, and reaching the knock-out stage when hosts of the 2002 World Cup, with victories over Russia and Tunisia in the first round. At the Confed Cup, the players of national coach Zico proved their class, recording a surprising 2-2 draw with Brazil.

Here you can find information about the star of the team ...

The most famous member of the team is always sitting a few metres from the pitch. Brazil’s top star Zico, one of the best midfielders of his time, started the ball rolling as the new coach. Winning the Asian Championship in China last year, thus qualifying for the Confederations Cup, nourished the hopes in the land of the rising sun of success in the qualifying matches for the 2006 World Cup. The team remained undefeated in the first qualifying round. In the next round, the Japanese were also successful in a tough group against North Korea and Bahrain. A few hours after Japan qualified for the World Cup, the team from Iran also achieved the ticket to Germany.

After major difficulties when Zico took over, which almost cost the South American his new job, the Japanese have established themselves again as the top team in Asia. The tournament in China, and especially the final against the host team, proved a tough test for the Japanese players. They were permanently booed. There is a great rivalry between the two countries, with the past wars between them playing a major role. But Zico’s team kept calm and cool, but also earned considerable luck to carry off the 3-1 victory over China in the final, and so retained their Asian title. Due to the armed conflicts in the past between the two nations and the still lasting rivalry, the final was held under the strictest security.

Confidence has increased, though the Japanese judge their performances with a lot of self-criticism. Many Japanese thought it was disgraceful that their team only made it into the knock-out stage at the 2002 World Cup at home, while their co-hosts, South Korea, played in the match for third place. But the team showed their world-class level several times. At a European tour prior to EURO 2004 they defeated the Czech Republic, and achieved a draw against England.

These results were particularly important for those talented players who do not play in Europe but in the Japanese J League. “Japan is not yet a top team. But the standard of the Japanese players has continued to improve”, says the former German World Cup champion, Guido Buchwald, who once played in Japan and is now coaching the Urawa Red Diamonds. He led this club as coach into the finals for the Japanese national championship in December 2004, where holders Yokohama Marinos won the penalty shoot-out in the second final 4-2 (1-0/0-1).

The Japanese considered the 3-0 defeat by Germany in Yokohama last December a bitter setback, particularly as the opponents lost to their rivals South Korea three days later. But Zico was forced to replace important players in the match against the World Cup runners-up. In the Confed Cup, too, Zico had to make do without a few of his best players, since Naohiro Takahara (Hamburger SV, Germany) and Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos) were injured.

“The Japanese have always been technically good. They also made some tactical and mental progress”, Buchwald says. In addition to Buchwald, two further German 1990 World Cup champions played in Japan at the end of their careers: Pierre Littbarski, who coached second division club FC Yokohama before he moved to FC Sydney in Australia in the spring of 2005, and Uwe Bein. But top players from other countries such as Zico or Jorginho, the 1994 World Cup champion, also did some “development aid” when the J League was created. Since then the J League has matured, football is very popular in Japan especially with young people. The many fans of the “Blues”, whose current top stars are Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura, are now aiming for a major international success to combine with the 1968 Olympic bronze medal.

Here you can find more information about the star of the team from Japan...

Here you can find more information about the trainer of the team from Japan...