Japan

AFC. Played 795 since 7 May 1917: won 393, drawn 168, lost 234. Elo 1975, ranked 12 in the world; peak 2012 in 2026. Titles: 4 Asian Cups.

4Asian Cup

Latest results

2026-10-05WJapan 2–1 New ZealandKirin Cup · Tokyo89%
2026-10-01DJapan 0–0 Ecuador (Japan won on penalties)Kirin Cup · Yokohama68%
2026-09-28WJapan 2–1 VenezuelaFriendly · Hiroshima81%
2026-06-29LBrazil 2–1 JapanFIFA World Cup · Round of 32 · Houston36%
2026-06-25DJapan 1–1 SwedenFIFA World Cup · Group F · Arlington78%
2026-06-20WTunisia 0–4 JapanFIFA World Cup · Group F · Guadalupe85%
2026-06-14DNetherlands 2–2 JapanFIFA World Cup · Group F · Arlington47%
2026-05-31WJapan 1–0 IcelandFriendly · Tokyo93%
2026-03-31WEngland 0–1 JapanUpsetFriendly · London22%
2026-03-28WScotland 0–1 JapanFriendly · Glasgow53%

Results and fixtures

Squad

The following players were called up to the Mizuho Blue Challenge - The Kallang Football Series Singapore against Brazil and Paraguay on 14 and 17 November 2026, respectively.

Players: 28
Average age: 26.7
Caps between them: 730
Most from one club: Machida Zelvia (2)

Where they play

4 at home · 24 abroad in 8 other countries

Japan 4
Germany 8
England 6
France 3
Belgium 2
Netherlands 2
Denmark 1
Italy 1
Spain 1

Average club rating 1744 (ClubElo; 26 of 28 players' clubs rated, mainly European). Highest-rated club: Bayern Munich, ranked 2 by ClubElo.

No.	Player	Age	Caps	Goals	Club	Club Elo
Goalkeepers
	Zion SuzukiAston Villa(England)	24	31	0	Aston Villa(England)	1898
	Tomoki HayakawaKashima Antlers	27	5	0	Kashima Antlers	1716
	Leo KokuboSint-Truiden(Belgium)	25	1	0	Sint-Truiden(Belgium)	1617
Defenders
	Kō ItakuraBorussia Mönchengladbach(Germany)	29	44	2	Borussia Mönchengladbach(Germany)	1671
	Hiroki ItōBayern Munich(Germany)	27	32	1	Bayern Munich(Germany)	2044
	Yukinari SugawaraCagliari(Italy)	26	25	2	Cagliari(Italy)	1654
	Ayumu SekoLe Havre(France)	26	20	0	Le Havre(France)	1586
	Kōki MachidaTSG Hoffenheim(Germany)	29	17	0	TSG Hoffenheim(Germany)	1734
	Tsuyoshi WatanabeFeyenoord(Netherlands)	29	14	0	Feyenoord(Netherlands)	1724
	Junnosuke SuzukiCopenhagen(Denmark)	23	12	0	Copenhagen(Denmark)
	Shuto NakanoSanfrecce Hiroshima	26	2	0	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	1687
Midfielders
	Junya ItōGenk(Belgium)	33	77	16	Genk(Belgium)	1678
	Ritsu DōanEintracht Frankfurt(Germany)	28	73	12	Eintracht Frankfurt(Germany)	1738
	Takumi MinaminoMonaco(France)	31	73	26	Monaco(France)	1790
	Daichi KamadaCrystal Palace(England)	30	57	14	Crystal Palace(England)	1810
	Takefusa KuboReal Sociedad(Spain)	25	54	7	Real Sociedad(Spain)	1789
	Ao TanakaLeeds United(England)	28	45	8	Leeds United(England)	1808
	Keito NakamuraLyon(France)	26	33	11	Lyon(France)	1792
	Yūki SōmaMachida Zelvia	29	22	5	Machida Zelvia	1697
	Kaishū SanoMainz 05(Germany)	25	19	1	Mainz 05(Germany)	1725
	Kodai SanoPSV(Netherlands)	23	4	0	PSV(Netherlands)	1783
	Kuryu MatsukiSouthampton(England)	23	2	1	Southampton(England)	1718
	Tatsuhiro SakamotoCoventry City(England)	30	2	0	Coventry City(England)	1705
Forwards
	Daizen MaedaIpswich Town(England)	29	33	5	Ipswich Town(England)	1702
	Kōki OgawaMachida Zelvia	29	18	11	Machida Zelvia	1697
	Yuito SuzukiSC Freiburg(Germany)	25	9	0	SC Freiburg(Germany)	1786
	Keisuke GotōSC Freiburg(Germany)	21	6	0	SC Freiburg(Germany)	1786
	Shiō FukudaKarlsruher SC(Germany)	22	0	0	Karlsruher SC(Germany)

Squad, caps and goals from Wikipedia: Japan national football team (CC BY-SA), caps correct as of 5 October 2026; page last edited 4 Nov 2026. Read daily.

Tournament history

World Cup: 8 appearances

Copa América: 2 appearances

Asian Cup: 10 appearances

Confed Cup: 5 appearances

Furthest round reached, finals tournaments and Nations League only (qualifiers are not shown).

Rating over time

Rating at the end of each year it played.

Head to head

Against

Japan v South Korea: played 73, won 14, drawn 21, lost 38; goals 66–110. First met 7 Mar 1954, last 27 Jul 2022.

2022-07-27WJapan 3–0 South KoreaEAFF Championship · Toyota57%
2021-03-25WJapan 3–0 South KoreaFriendly · Yokohama62%
2019-12-18LSouth Korea 1–0 JapanEAFF Championship · Busan37%
2017-12-16LJapan 1–4 South KoreaUpsetEAFF Championship · Chōfu70%
2015-08-05DJapan 1–1 South KoreaEAFF Championship · Wuhan44%
2013-07-28WSouth Korea 1–2 JapanEAFF Championship · Seoul39%
2011-08-10WJapan 3–0 South KoreaFriendly · Sapporo66%
2011-01-25DJapan 2–2 South Korea (Japan won on penalties)AFC Asian Cup · Semi-finals · Doha57%
2010-10-12DSouth Korea 0–0 JapanFriendly · Seoul44%
2010-05-24LJapan 0–2 South KoreaFriendly · Saitama59%
2010-02-14LJapan 1–3 South KoreaUpsetEAFF Championship · Tokyo72%
2008-02-23DJapan 1–1 South KoreaEAFF Championship · Chongqing64%
2007-07-28DSouth Korea 0–0 Japan (South Korea won on penalties)AFC Asian Cup · Third-place play-off · Palembang61%
2005-08-07WSouth Korea 0–1 JapanEAFF Championship · Daegu48%
2003-12-10DJapan 0–0 South KoreaEAFF Championship · Yokohama76%

Latest 15 of 73 meetings.

Record by competition

Japan by competition

Friendly	232	107	50	75	395–307	1917–2026
FIFA World Cup qualification	153	95	29	29	356–94	1954–2025
Merdeka Tournament	73	32	16	25	137–109	1959–1986
Kirin Cup	59	29	18	12	86–51	1978–2026
AFC Asian Cup	53	33	12	8	104–52	1988–2024
Asian Games	50	25	4	21	83–56	1951–1998
FIFA World Cup	29	8	8	13	33–38	1998–2026
EAFF Championship	26	12	9	5	43–25	2003–2022
AFC Asian Cup qualification	25	18	2	5	60–14	1967–2010
Kirin Challenge Cup	22	13	5	4	40–18	2013–2022
Confederations Cup	16	5	2	9	19–25	1995–2013
Far Eastern Championship Games	15	3	1	11	26–65	1917–1934
Dynasty Cup	14	6	4	4	23–15	1990–1998
Copa América	6	0	3	3	6–15	1999–2019
East Asian Games	4	2	1	1	19–4	1997
Guangzhou International Friendship Tournament	3	2	0	1	5–2	1980
King's Cup	3	0	1	2	3–5	1995–1997
Lunar New Year Cup	3	1	1	1	6–2	1996–2000
Umbro Cup	3	0	1	2	3–7	1995
King Hassan II Tournament	2	1	1	0	6–2	2000
Korea Cup	2	1	0	1	2–2	1981
Millennium Cup	1	0	0	1	0–1	2001
Open International Championship	1	0	0	1	0–3	1921

Top scorers

Kazuyoshi Miura 30
Shinji Okazaki 22
Keisuke Honda 21
Takumi Minamino 17
Takuya Takagi 16
Yuya Osako 16
Shinji Kagawa 15
Ayase Ueda 14
Shunsuke Nakamura 13
Naohiro Takahara 10

Goals in games whose scorers are recorded in the source (most competitive games, not every friendly), so totals can be lower than official records.

Shoot-outs count as draws in records and ratings. Results: martj42/international_results (CC0), men’s full internationals since 1872. Rounds and groups: openfootball (CC0). Fixtures: fixturedownload.com.