Japan sets tone with two first-half goals in victory over Paraguay
Japan heads into its first game of World Cup qualifying next week on a high after knocking off Paraguay 2-0 Thursday in a friendly. Yuya Osako scored Japan's 23rd-minute opener and Takumi Minamino added the second seven minutes later as the hosts kept Paraguay on ...
Moriyasu relies heavily on overseas players
The Samurai Blue are coming from increasingly far away. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu's squad for Japan's Thursday friendly against Paraguay and next Tuesday's Asian joint qualifier at Myanmar in Yangon features 19 Europe-based players — the largest overseas contingent ever summoned for the side. The number ...
Japan to host Mongolia at Saitama Stadium when World Cup qualifying resumes
Japan will play its home opener in the second round of 2022 World Cup Asian qualifying against Mongolia at Saitama Stadium on Oct. 10, the Japan Football Association announced Monday. The Samurai Blue will start their Group F campaign against Myanmar in Yangon on Sept. ...
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said his team would learn from its Copa America heartbreak after missing out on a place in the quarterfinals following Monday's 1-1 draw with Ecuador. The result puts Paraguay, which did not play on Monday, into the quarterfinals of the tournament. Shoya ...
Samurai Blue boss Hajime Moriyasu selects squad of Olympic hopefuls for Copa America
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu on Friday named a young and inexperienced squad for the upcoming Copa America in Brazil, giving a preview of his potential lineup for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Seventeen-year-old FC Tokyo star Takefusa Kubo headlines a host of newcomers who will ...
The Japanese men's national team will play an international friendly against El Salvador on June 9, the Japan Football Association announced Wednesday. Japan, ranked No. 26 in the world, will face No. 71 El Salvador for the first time. The match at Hitomebore Stadium Miyagi in ...
Shoya Nakajima breaks deadlock in 76th minute to lead Samurai Blue past Bolivia
Shoya Nakajima netted a late winner as Japan beat Bolivia 1-0 in an international friendly on Tuesday night. Hajime Moriyasu made sweeping changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Colombia last Friday, giving a start to several locally based players at Noevir StadiumKobe. But with ...
Colombia defeats Japan on Radamel Falcao penalty in second half
Radamel Falcao scored a 64th-minute penalty as Colombia got a measure of revenge on World Cup foe Japan in a 1-0 international friendly victory on Friday. In a rematch of their opening World Cup Group H match last year, the Samurai Blue started just two ...
Shinji Kagawa called up for Japan's friendlies against Colombia, Bolivia
Shinji Kagawa is set to make his return for Japan after being named Thursday to the Samurai Blue squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Colombia and Bolivia. Manager Hajime Moriyasu included the veteran midfielder in his 23-man squad for the matches, which will serve ...
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu says building best squad for Copa America won't be easy
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu said Wednesday it will be "difficult" to assemble the strongest possible squad for this summer's Copa America in Brazil, with overseas clubs under no obligation to make Japanese players available for the tournament. While the June 14 to July 7 Copa ...
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu confident about future despite loss in Asian Cup final
Despite the disappointment of a surprise 3-1 loss against Qatar in the Asian Cup final on Friday, Japan saw encouraging performances from several of its emerging players in the United Arab Emirates. Manager Hajime Moriyasu, who took the reins following last summer's World Cup, overlooked ...
Qatar foiled Japan’s bid for a record-extending fifth Asian Cup title on Friday, winning the tournament for the first time in a 3-1 upset. Golden Boot winner and tournament MVP Almoez Ali scored an early opener before Abdelaziz Hatim added a second as Felix Sanchez’s ...
