Sports
Japan’s Turbulent FIFA World Cup History
Every four years, the world comes together for the FIFA World Cup football tournament. Each of the six confederations determines their own qualifying teams. These confederations are Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. They decide which of their countries will represent those regions at the FIFA World Cup. The run-up to the tournament is often as drama-filled as the event itself. The fans are drawn to the local sports betting sites as the odds swing before and after each match.
Japan, in the Asian Football Confederation, has never won the World Cup. Many know the Japanese national team as the Samurai Blue. This references both the traditional Japanese nobility and the team’s blue jerseys. The Samurai Blue made their first World Cup appearance in 1998. Though the tournament itself dates back to 1930.
Many considered their inaugural appearance at the World Cup to be a major success in itself. The team lost all three of their matches. They finished last in Group H. Both fans and analysts remained hopeful for the future of the Samurai Blue.
In 2002 Japan and South Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup. This year, Japan finished at the top of Group H. They had a significant victory over Russia. This was their first against an established team. The winning goal came in the 50th minute of play by Junichi Inamoto. The Samurai Blue continued to gain momentum with every move they made.
The team fared particularly well in the 2010 tournament in South Africa. They had a stunning 3-1 victory over Denmark in group stages. The team finished second in Group E behind the Netherlands.
A Look at How the Samurai Blue Play
The team’s 2018 offerings disappointed many fans. The team did qualify for round 16 but managed little beyond that. They qualified after a tie with Senegal. The team only advanced due to fair play rules, having fewer yellow cards. This left many football fans upset over the results. They pointed out what they believed to be a poor showing from Japan during the match. Their critics said that the team had made many mistakes throughout the 2018 World Cup.
One major example of this was their lineup against Poland. Despite being at risk of elimination, they made some poor decisions. Some of the missing players from their lineup were understandable. Both Mokoto Hasebe and Tekshi Inui were out on yellow cards. Gen Shoji was missing due to a poor performance against Senegal. However, it is more difficult to explain the absence of game starters Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda. Notable players Yuki Osako and Genki Haraguchi were also missing. These lineup changes came at such a critical point for Japan.
The team wasn’t applying an effective strategy to avoid a loss and elimination during that match. Instead, their play focused on avoiding yellow cards. While this did pan out for Japan, fans and critics alike agreed that the move was risky. This is particularly true given that they didn’t know what to expect from Senegal.
Japan is currently going through the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier. While they were off to a rough start, they seemed to be improving their chances. At first, the team had lost two out of its first three matches. A 1-0 loss against Saudi Arabia was particularly disheartening for the team. The lone goal came at the 71st minute of the match. Hajime Moriyasu defended his team. He stated that they had become exhausted by that point in the match. He also said that the team is still hopeful. The loss put Japan at 26th, with an upcoming match against Australia.
Facing Australia was sure to be a major challenge for Japan. The Australian team had just come off a 3-0 win against Doha. Despite the challenge, Japan beat Australia 2-0. One of those goals was an own goal by Australian Aziz Behich at 86 minutes into the match. Japan has enjoyed a streak of back-to-back wins since this major victory.
Japan has done well to distinguish itself so far. This is particularly true for a team without a significant tournament history. The Samurai Blue have been a team to watch since their first year of FIFA. Since then, they’ve managed to make finals and have contended with some of South America’s toughest teams.
Overall, the team has since shown great consistency in its qualifying matches. Fans remain hopeful that the team will qualify for the 202 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Conclusion
So far, many of the team’s recent shortcomings have been due to strategy rather than skill and experience. Samurai Blue will be able to show what they can do as they continue to climb the World Cup rankings.
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