The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan. Their head coach is Alberto Zaccheroni.
Japan is one of the most successful teams in Asia having qualified for the last four consecutive FIFA World Cup finals with second round advancements in 2002 & 2010 and having won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times with championships in 1992, 2000, 2004 & 2011. To this they add a FIFA Confederations Cup second place in 2001.
The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as Soccer Nippon Daihyō, Nippon Daihyō, or Daihyō as abbreviated expressions. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan. Recently the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue", while news media still refer it to by manager's last name, as "Zaccheroni Japan", or "Zac Japan".
Japan is one of the most successful teams in Asia having qualified for the last four consecutive FIFA World Cup finals with second round advancements in 2002 & 2010 and having won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times with championships in 1992, 2000, 2004 & 2011. To this they add a FIFA Confederations Cup second place in 2001.
The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as Soccer Nippon Daihyō, Nippon Daihyō, or Daihyō as abbreviated expressions. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as Okada Japan. Recently the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue", while news media still refer it to by manager's last name, as "Zaccheroni Japan", or "Zac Japan".
Japan were the Unofficial Football World Champions for about a year, until a 1-0 defeat at Kim Il-Sung Stadium to North Korea in November 2011 saw them relinquish their title and 20-match unbeaten run.
