Honours & Records
37 entries in the Japan National Team compendium.
2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16A dramatic penalty shootout defeat that ended the Samurai Blue's World Cup journey in the 1968 Summer Olympics Bronze MedalJapan's first Olympic football medal: A bronze triumph in Mexico City.EAFF East Asian Cup 2003 WinnersJapan's first East Asian Cup triumph, cementing regional dominance with a hard-fought 1-0 2022 FIFA World Cup Round of 16A historic group run culminated in a penalty shootout heartbreak against Croatia.EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 WinnersJapan's fifth regional crown reinforced their status as East Asia's most decorated team.All-Time Top Scorer Shinji Okazaki RecordThe clinical finisher whose goal record set the scoring bar for a whole generation in JapaSeven Consecutive FIFA World Cup QualificationsFrom the first step on global soil to an unbroken streak of seven World Cups.FIFA Confederations Cup 2003 ParticipationThe cancelled tournament that skipped the global stage between Asian and German editions.4× Asian Cup Champions (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)Four crowns, one dynasty: Samurai Blue's Asian reign.3× AFC Asian Cup Player of the Tournament (Kazuyoshi Miura 1992, Shunsuke Nakamura 2000, Keisuke Honda 2011)Three kings. Three crowns. One dynasty.FIFA World Cup Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022)Four times the world stage, four times the heartbreak — but each exit carved a deeper legeMost Japan National Team Goals (Kunishige Kamamoto, 75 goals)75 goals in 76 games: Japan's eternal marksman.Most Japan National Team Caps (Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, 116 caps)The iron wall that held back an era.Youngest Japan World Cup Goalscorer (Keisuke Honda, 2010)That free kick against Denmark in 2010 is still the first thing Japanese fans point to wheFirst Asian Team to Beat Argentina (1998 friendly)The night Japan stunned a South American giant and announced itself to the world.First Asian Team to Beat Brazil (2005 Confederations Cup)Asia's first conquerors of the Seleção.AFC Asian Cup Record: Most Goals in a Single Tournament (Ali Daei 1996 – shared, but Japan's highest: Naohiro Takahara 2000 – 5 goals)Japan's top individual goal total in a single Asian Cup tournament.FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up (2001)The night Japan's footballing soul caught fire.AFC Asian Cup All-Time Top Scorer (Ali Daei – not Japan, but Japan's record: Kunishige Kamamoto 7 goals)Japan's Asian Cup scoring king: Kamamoto's 7 goals—a record that refuses to fall.Longest Unbeaten Run in AFC Asian Cup (Japan, 11 matches, 2000–2007)11 unbeaten. Two titles. Samurai Blue, 2000 to 2007.Most Assists in a Single World Cup for Japan (Keisuke Honda, 3 assists in 2010)Honda’s three assists: Japan’s creative heartbeat in 2010.Japan's Biggest World Cup Win (4–0 vs Saudi Arabia, 1994 qualifier; 3–1 vs Denmark, 2010)Samurai Blue's twin peaks of World Cup glory: one a cruel tease, the other a sweet triumphFastest Goal in World Cup History (Hakan Şükür – not Japan; Japan's fastest: Keisuke Honda 8 min vs Denmark 2010)Two lightning strikes: one global, one Japanese—both unforgettable.2000 AFC Asian Cup TitleZico's Samurai Blue dethroned Korea in Beirut and gave Japan its first great football crow2004 AFC Asian Cup TitleTwo goals down, two goals to go—Japan stole the crown from the host nation's throat.2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup TitleOne late goal, one first crown—Japan's youth finally conquered the world.2005 Confederations Cup Fourth PlaceTwo years after the World Cup, Japan danced with Brazil and nearly danced with the trophy.2002 World Cup Round of 16One goal, one heartbreak, one nation forever changed by the first step into the World Cup 2010 World Cup Round of 16Three straight World Cups, three last-sixteen heartbreaks — and a nation that refused to s2018 World Cup Round of 16Four World Cups, four last-16s: Japan's 2018 run made the extraordinary feel routine.2022 World Cup Round of 16One goal, one night, and a ceiling that never existed anymore.2002 World Cup Co-HostThe first World Cup in Asia, and Japan's first-ever knockout-stage appearance.Hasebe 141-Cap RecordOne hundred and forty-one matches, one unbroken engine at the heart of the Samurai Blue.Okazaki 57-Goal RecordThe Okazaki 57-Goal Record refers to Shinji Okazaki's status as the all-time top goalscore2022 Draw vs SpainA quiet 1-0 loss that set the stage for the loudest upset of the tournament.2018 Win Over SenegalKagawa's five-minute storm in Nizhny Novgorod kept the Samurai Blue's World Cup dream aliv2010 Win Over CameroonThree goals in Durban kept Japan's 2010 World Cup dream alive and burning.
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