Japan World Cup profile: Guide to squad, record, path to final, manager, team news, latest odds and star man
Heading to their sixth straight finals, Akira Nishino's side are looking to progress past the last 16 for first time
JAPAN have been a feature of every World Cup since 1998 - and will be hoping to put up more of a fight than they did in Brazil four years ago.
Back then, the Japanese crashed out in the group stages without winning a game, but there is hope that they can capitalise on a wide open group this time round.
Here's all you need to know about the contenders who are drawn in Group H alongside Colombia, Senegal and Poland.
In a nutshell: Football mad island nation that’s long overdue a decent run in the World Cup. They’ve never been past the last 16 in five
appearances in the finals.
Flag: Ah, the classic Hinomaru. White with a big red disk in the middle. Is there a better flag?
Population: 127 million.
Nickname: サムライ・ブルー. That’s "Samurai Blue", apparently.
Manager: The head coach is Akira Nishino who played 12 times for Japan in the 1970s. He took over from Vahid Halilhodzic who was sacked in April despite seeing Japan to their sixth straight finals appearance.
Captain: Eintracht Frankfurt’s defensive midfielder Makoto Hasebe.
Star Man: Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa. The former Manchester United star is still only 29. How long has he been around? Southampton defender Maya Yoshida will also be central to Japan’s chances of progressing.
Rising Star: Keep an eye out for exciting 21-year-old midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi. He plays his club football for Leonesa in the Spanish second tier but there will a queue for his services if he turns it on in Russia.
Road to Russia
QUALIFYING RECORD
16/06/15 Singapore H 0-0
03/09/15 Cambodia H 3-0
08/09/15 Afghanistan A 6-0
08/10/15 Syria A 3-0
12/11/15 Singapore A 3-0
17/11/15 Cambodia A 2-0
24/03/16 Afghanistan H 5-0
29/03/16 Syria H 5-0
01/09/16 United Arab Emirates H 1-2
06/09/16 Thailand A 2-0
06/10/16 Iraq H 2-1
11/10/16 Australia A 1-1
15/11/16 Saudi Arabia H 2-1
23/03/17 United Arab Emirates A 2-0
28/03/17 Thailand H 4-0
13/06/17 Iraq A 1-1
31/08/17 Australia H 2-0
05/09/17 Saudi Arabia A 0-1
TOP SCORERS
7 Keisuke Honda
6 Shinji Kagawa
5 Shinji Okazaki
MOST APPEARANCES
18 Maya Yoshida
18 Genki Haraguchi
16 Keisuke Honda
Most caps: It’s the veteran midfielder Yasuhito Endo (152).
All-time top scorer: Kunishige Kamamoto plundered 80 goals in just 84 caps for his country between 1964 and 1977.
Nice kit? A little bit French actually. Made by adidas, it’s a dark blue shirt with white stripes on the shoulder, dark blue shorts and dark blue socks.
Most offensive haircut? Do the Japanese players like a radical hairdo? Is the Pope Catholic? Check out Atsuto Uchida’s for a typical "style".
Any names we can laugh at like kids? Altogether now… "Shoma, Shoma, Shoma… Doi! Doi! Doi!"
Rivals? They’ve got a little bee in their bonnet about Australia of late but an even bigger hornet in their hat about South Korea.
National anthem: Kimigayo features the oldest lyrics in any national anthem in the world, dating back to the 8th century. It’s also the shortest anthem at the finals.
Sample lyric:
May your reign
Continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations,
Until the pebbles
Grow into boulders
Lush with moss
National dish: Probably sushi but with a close rival in ramen noodles. We’ll have both please. And some edamame beans on the side please.
National drink: The rice wine nihonshu is better known as sake. Try it, you might like it.
World Cup Finals Record: P17 W4 D4 L9 F14 A22
World Cup Win Ratio: 23.5 per cent
Best World Cup Performance: They’ve made the last 16 twice, in 2002 and 2010.
FIFA World Ranking: 55
WORLD CUP SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Metz), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Kosuke Nakamura (Kashiwa Reysol).
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (Galatasaray), Tomoaki Makino, Wataru Endo (Urawa Reds), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Marseille), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg), Gen Shoji, Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers).
Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Keisuke Honda (Pachuca), Takashi Inui (Eibar), Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi, Takashi Usami (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale).
Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Leicester), Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen), Yoshinori Muto (Mainz).
Path to final: With the weakest squad in Group H, a second placed finish would be an achievement for the Japanese.
They would then probably face whoever comes off worst out of Belgium and England in Group G, followed by a quarter-final with Brazil.
Win that and France, Portugal and Uruguay are potential opponents in the semis.