The Japan national football team is the national association football team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. Takeshi Okada, who had previously served as the manager for Japan leading up to and during the 1998 FIFA World Cup is the current coach for the team. The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as Soccer Nippon Daihyō (サッカー日本代表?, lit. Japanese representatives of soccer), or Nippon Daihyō (日本代表?, lit. Japanese representatives), Daihyō (代表?, lit.

representatives) as abbreviated expressions. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Ivica Osim, the team was known as Osim Japan. Recently the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue". Japan is one of the most successful national teams in Asia, being a three-time winner of the AFC Asian Cup and having qualified for the last four consecutive FIFA World Cup finals. Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. Although this result earned the sport increased recognition in Japan, the absence of a professional domestic league hindered its growth and Japan would not qualify for the FIFA World Cup until 30 years later.[2] In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professional J. League, partly to raise the sport's profile and to strengthen the national team program. With the launch of the new league in 1993, interest in football and the national team grew. However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 FIFA World Cup after failing to beat Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the Agony of Doha. The nation's first FIFA World Cup appearance was in 1998, where they lost all three matches. Japan's first two fixtures went 1-0 in favor of Argentina and Croatia, despite playing well in both games. Their campaign ended with an unexpected 2-1 defeat to rank outsiders Jamaica. Four years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Belgium in their opening game, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over Russia and a 2-0 victory against Tunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the Round of 16, after losing 1-0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey. On June 8, 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2-0 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16 after finishing group play without a win, losing to Australia 1-3, drawing Croatia 0-0 and losing to Brazil 1-4. Japan has had considerably more success in the Asian Cup, taking home the winner's trophy in three of the last four finals, in 1992, 2000 and 2004. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea, followed by Saudi Arabia, and most recently Australia. Japan is the only team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in 1999 and 2011.[3] During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the Asian Qualifiers, Japan became the first team other than the host South Africa to qualify after defeating Uzbekistan 1-0, in Tashkent. Japan is in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon..