World Cup 2018 Team Preview: Japan
Nickname: Samurai Blue
Coach: Vahid Halilhodžić (since March 2015)
FIFA ranking: 40
How They Qualified
Japan became the fourth team to qualify for the World Cup on August 31st with a 2-0 win over Australia. The Samurai Blue came top of a tightly-contested AFC Group B, finishing one point ahead of Saudi Arabia and Australia (although they did secure first place with a game to spare).
World Cup History
Russia 2018 will be Japan's sixth World Cup appearance, all of which have come consecutively since 1998. Twice they have progressed from the group stages, being eliminated at the round of 16 in 2010 and in 2002, when they co-hosted with South Korea.
The last World Cup is one that the Japanese would rather forget. After being drawn in a favorable group alongside Colombia, Greece and Ivory Coast, Japan suffered two defeats and one draw as they finished bottom of the group.
Japan have traditionally played with a blue jersey, white shorts and blue socks. They opted for blue and white, instead of the red and white that appears on their national flag, for superstitious reasons – in their first major international competition, the 1936 Summer Olympics, Japan used a blue kit in the match against Sweden, which they won 3–2.
With hopes of attracting younger fans to support Japans last world cup run in Brazil, we saw a surprising collaboration between Nintendo and adidas. The famous Pokémon character, Pikachu, was featured on select replica jerseys, which were available for fans to purchase in Japan.
The current kit is all dark blue, with lighter blue trim, including a horizontal bar that runs across the front of the jersey. Adidas have supplied the Japan kits since 1986 and will be doing so again for Russia next year.
Check out the Japan National Team Jersey at SOCCER.COM.