Japan

Yokohama, 2011, extra time against Australia in the Asian Cup final: Tadanari Lee met a cross with his left foot and put it past the goalkeeper, and Japan had its fourth continental title. That moment sits at the top of a run that goes back to 1992, when the team beat Saudi Arabia to win the tournament for the first time, and repeated the same scoreline against the same opponent in 2000. Only 2004, settled 3–1 against China, breaks the pattern of one-goal finals. A run like that does not happen by accident, and it explains why Japan arrived at the 2019 final as favourites before Qatar beat them 3–1.

The team traces itself to the Japan Football Association, set up in 1921, though a side calling itself Japanese representatives had already played China in 1917 — a match fielded by students of the Tokyo Higher Normal School rather than a proper national set-up. FIFA membership followed in 1929. The nickname Samurai Blue became official only in 2009, decades after the shirt colour it describes had already become the team's identity.

Domestically there is no single home ground; Japan rotate through the National Stadium in Tokyo, Ajinomoto Stadium, Saitama Stadium 2002 and the International Stadium in Yokohama, spreading matches the way the country spreads its football support. Continentally there is a habit of winning the Kirin Cup that borders on ownership of the trophy, with titles stretching from the early 1990s to 2016. The World Cup has proven a harder ceiling: four campaigns have ended in the round of 16, in 2002, 2010, 2018 and 2022, and no further.

Yasuhito Endo played 152 times for the national team, more than anyone else who has worn the shirt.