Japan set history after qualifying for the World Cup with three matches to spare
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu, captain Wataru Endo and star forward Kaoru Mitoma react after Japan secured World Cup qualification with three matches to spare.
- Japan have become the first non-host nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup
- It is a record eighth consecutive qualification for the nation
- Stars Endo and Mitoma and coach Moriyasu react
Urawa-misono station marks the end of the line for the Saitama Railway; a stretch of track that bends and snakes from northern Tokyo up to the doorstep of what has become Japan’s de-facto national stadium.
On matchdays the walk from railway terminus to sporting arena, in and around food vendors, takes you past dozens of banners slung up alongside the tracks that pay homage to national stars past and present.
At the rate that Japan keeps qualifying for major tournaments they’ll soon run out of track in which to hang these portraits. What began 14 months ago in Osaka with a crushing defeat of Myanmar was completed in Saitama as Hajime Moriyasu’s side downed Bahrain 2-0 to become the first non-host nation to book their place at the FIFA World Cup 26™. They did it with a full three matches to spare and have become the first Asian nation to qualify for eight consecutive World Cups.
Few nations anywhere in the world have dominated their confederation as ruthlessly as Japan have in recent times. A 1-0 loss in Saudi Arabia during the Qatar 2022 preliminaries was the last time they fell in an AFC qualifier and their undefeated run now stretches to a full 20 matches.
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Speaking on the pitch after that win over Bahrain, just prior to being sprayed with all sorts of liquid, Moriyasu was keen to deflect praise to everyone but himself in imploring the 60,000-stong crowd to keep the applause going and going into the Saitama evening.
“One more time, give it up for the players! Give it up for the staff! This isn’t just about these players but it’s about all the players that featured throughout the qualifying campaign, the sponsors and the media; everyone needs to enjoy this result!”
A fair bit of the applause though should certainly be directed Moriyasu’s way. Across the second and third rounds of this campaign he’s had a trusted group of core players but hasn’t been afraid to throw some selection curveballs in looking to bolster the group.
He’s largely stuck to a tried-and-tested 3-4-2-1 that some had questioned as to whether or not it made the best use of the attacking talents at his disposal. He showed faith with emerging players, notably goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, through testing times and against an image as something of a conservative coach he’s managed to coax a scoring tsunami from the side.
Through the 13 matches it took the nation to confirm their qualification they have plundered a remarkable 48 goals. Even more impressively, they’ve come from 17 different scorers. On the other side of the equation the nation has only conceded twice during that run, and one of those was an own-goal.
Yet for all the side’s dominance at continental level, Japan has struggled to replicate that on the global stage. It’s perhaps for that reason that, even having secured qualification at such a rapid pace, that captain Wataru Endo was also keen to keep things focussed on taking one step after the other.
“We have to prepare as carefully as we can for the upcoming match against Saudi Arabia and make sure that it’s a great start to our World Cup preparations. There will be a lot of tough matches and challenges leading up to the World Cup and we need all the support we can get to fight together to achieve our dream of winning it.”
Japan v Spain | Group E | FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ | Highlights
Watch the highlights from the match between Japan and Spain played at Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan on Thursday, 01 December 2022.
Wins over Russia and Tunisia at their co-hosted home World Cup in 2002, a stirring result against Denmark that sent them to the second round eight years later and stunning upsets of Germany and Spain at Qatar 2022 show that the nation has a growing global pedigree.
What they now also have is a return to the days of Nakata, Honda, Ono and Co. where the core group of the squad are starting regularly, and in many cases, starring in big leagues abroad.
Japan have done what was largely expected of them in securing qualification and they’ve done it in just about as impressive a manner as they could have. The next step, as Kaoru Mitoma noted post-match, is to join the ranks of the global elite.
“I think we’ve certainly made people take notice by becoming the fastest nation to qualify but if we want to take that next step there’s still a lot of things we need to do. If we want to win the World Cup we need to improve our attack, improve our defence, improve plenty of things and there’s still a wall in front us but we will do all we can to get over that.”