Masashi Nakayama
Japan's first World Cup scorer and holder of the fastest international hat-trick.
Masashi Nakayama, nicknamed "Gon" during his playing career, is a Japanese former player who scored the first goal for the Japan national team in the history of the FIFA World Cup. That goal came against Jamaica on 26 June 1998. He scored 21 goals in 53 appearances for Japan. Nakayama also holds the world record fastest hat-trick at international level, scoring three goals in a 2000 Asian Cup qualification match against Brunei on 16 February 2000 in three minutes and three seconds. He was the J.League Most Valuable Player in 1998 and a four-time J.League Best XI selection.
- Role
- Striker
- Status
- Retired
- Major Honour
- AFC Asian Cup winner (1992)
- Record
- All-time leading scorer for Japan (53 goals)
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Masashi Nakayama's international career is defined by two record-breaking moments. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he scored the only goal of the tournament for Japan and the first goal for the Japan national team in the history of the World Cup against Jamaica on 26 June 1998. That strike made him a national pioneer. Just two years later, on 16 February 2000, he set another mark: the world record fastest hat-trick at international level. In an Asian Cup qualification match against Brunei, he managed three goals in just three minutes and three seconds, beating the previous record of Englishman Willie Hall set in 1938 by 27 seconds. Nakayama also contributed to Japan's AFC Asian Cup victory in 1992.
In Their Own Story
The moment came on 26 June 1998. Japan faced Jamaica in their final group match of the FIFA World Cup. With the score level, Nakayama struck. He scored the only goal of the tournament for Japan, and in doing so, he became the first Japanese player to score in a World Cup. It was a single goal, but it marked Japan's arrival on the global stage. Later, on 16 February 2000, Nakayama produced another piece of history. In an Asian Cup qualifier against Brunei, he scored three goals in three minutes and three seconds — the fastest hat-trick ever recorded in international football, recognized as a world record.
Reader's Guide
Masashi Nakayama made 53 appearances for the Japan national team, scoring 21 goals. His most famous goal came at the 1998 FIFA World Cup against Jamaica on 26 June 1998 — Japan's first-ever World Cup goal. He also holds the world record for the fastest hat-trick at international level, scoring three goals in three minutes and three seconds against Brunei on 16 February 2000 during Asian Cup qualification. Nakayama was part of the Japan squad that won the AFC Asian Cup in 1992. At the club level, he played for Júbilo Iwata, winning the J1 League in 1997, 1999, and 2002, the AFC Champions League in 1998–99, and the Emperor's Cup in 2003. He was the J.League Most Valuable Player in 1998 and the J.League Top Scorer in 1998 and 2000.
Did You Know?
- Nakayama scored Japan's first-ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, against Jamaica on 26 June 1998.
- He holds the world record for the fastest hat-trick at international level: three goals in three minutes and three seconds against Brunei on 16 February 2000.
- Nakayama was the J.League Most Valuable Player in 1998 and the league's Top Scorer in both 1998 and 2000.
- He scored four hat-tricks in four successive J1 League games in April 1998, a record recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
- Nakayama married actress Tomoko Ikuta in 1996, and they have a daughter.
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