Japan national under-23 football team

The Japan national under-23 football team is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games and were champions in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Since 1992, it was decided that teams targeting athletes under the age of 23 will participate in the Olympics (additional provisions for overage limits have been added since 1996). Therefore, the name changes to Japan national under-22 football team the year before the Olympics and Japan national under-21 football team two years ago. The exception to this is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed for one year, so in 2021, the team will be called the Japan national under-24 football team.

Japan U23
Nickname(s)サムライ・ブルー
(Samurai Blue)
AssociationJapan Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationEAFF (East Asia)
Head coachHajime Moriyasu
CaptainTsuyoshi Watanabe
Most capsKensuke Nagai
Keigo Higashi
(31 each)
Top scorerShoya Nakajima (19)
FIFA codeJPN
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Malaysia 1–1 Japan 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; December 1990)[1]
Biggest win
 Japan 13–0 Philippines 
(Hong Kong; 12 June 1999)
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 6–1 Japan 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 6 February 1994)
Summer Olympics
Appearances7 (first in 1996)
Best resultFourth place (2012)
AFC U-23 Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2013)
Best resultWinner (2016)
Asian Games
Appearances5 (first in 2002)
Best result Gold Medal (2010)

Team image

Nicknames

The Japan national under-23 football team has been known or nicknamed as the "サムライ・ブルー (Samurai Blue)".

South Korea
Main article: Japan–South Korea football rivalry

Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea.

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixtures

2019
22 March 2019 (2019-03-22) AFC U23 qualification (Group I) Japan  8–0  Macau Yangon, Myanmar
15:00 Machida  51'
Ueda  54', 60', 70'
Endo  67'
Maeda  69', 72'
Itakura  90+5'		 Report Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium
Attendance: 303
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)
24 March 2019 (2019-03-24) AFC U23 qualification (Group I) Timor-Leste  0–6  Japan Yangon, Myanmar
15:00 Report Tagawa  24'
Kubo  54', 75'
Tatsuta  60'
Itakura  71'
Ueda  77'		 Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium
Attendance: 753
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)
24 March 2019 (2019-03-24) AFC U23 qualification (Group I) Japan  7–0  Myanmar Yangon, Myanmar
15:00
Report Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium
Attendance: 9,875
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)
1 June 2019 (2019-06-01) Toulon Tournament (Group stage) England  1–2  Japan Aubagne, France
15:05 Chalobah  38' Report Ominami  47'
Naganuma  68'		 Stadium: Stade de Lattre-de-Tassigny
Referee: Felipe González Alveal (Chile)
4 June 2019 (2019-06-04) Toulon Tournament (Group stage) Japan  6–1  Chile Salon-de-Provence, France
16:05 Mitoma  7'
Hatate  12', 18', 63'
Iwasaki  39', 45+1'		 Report Araos  35' Stadium: Stade d'Honneur Marcel Roustan
Referee: Robert Hennessy (Republic of Ireland)
7 June 2019 (2019-06-07) Toulon Tournament (Group stage) Portugal  1–0  Japan Fos-sur-Mer, France
17:05 Umaro Embaló  85' Report Stadium: Stade Parsemain
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)
12 June 2019 (2019-06-12) Toulon Tournament (Semi-finals) Japan  2–2
(5–4 p)		  Mexico Aubagne, France
15:00 Soma  72'
Ogawa  89'		 Report Godínez  50'
E. Aguirre  86'		 Stadium: Stade de Lattre-de-Tassigny
Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (Romania)
Penalties
Ogawa
Soma
Iwasaki
Naganuma
Hatate 		E. Aguirre
Cardona
López
Mozo
Córdova
15 June 2019 (2019-06-15) Toulon Tournament (Final) Brazil  1–1
(5–4 p)		  Japan Salon-de-Provence, France
16:00 Antony  19' Report Ogawa  39' Stadium: Stade d'Honneur Marcel Roustan
Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)
Penalties




 Soma
Mitoma
Kamiya
Naganuma
Hatate

2020
9 January 2020 (2020-01-09) AFC U-23 Championship (Group stage) Japan  1–2  Saudi Arabia Thammasat Stadium, Rangsit
20:15
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 1,433
Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)
12 January 2020 (2020-01-12) AFC U-23 Championship (Group stage) Syria  2–1  Japan Thammasat Stadium, Rangsit
20:15
  • Barakat  9' (pen.)
  • Dali  88'
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 1,509
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)
15 January 2020 (2020-01-15) AFC U-23 Championship (Group stage) Qatar  1–1  Japan Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok
20:15
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 1,362
Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

2021
26 March 2021 (2021-03-26) Friendly Japan  v  Brazil Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan
Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium
29 March 2021 (2021-03-29) Friendly Japan  v  Egypt Kitakyushu, Japan
Stadium: Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu
5 June 2021 (2021-06-05) Friendly Japan  v TBD Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
Stadium: Best Denki Stadium
12 June 2021 (2021-06-12) Friendly Japan  v TBD Toyota, Japan
Stadium: Toyota Stadium
12 July 2021 (2021-07-12) Kirin Challenge Cup 2021 Japan  v TBD Kincho Stadium
17 July 2021 (2021-07-17) Kirin Challenge Cup 2021 Japan  v TBD Noevir Stadium Kobe
22 July 2021 (2021-07-22) 2020 Summer Olympics Japan  v TBD Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo
25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 2020 Summer Olympics Japan  v TBD Saitama Stadium 2002, Satiama
28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 2020 Summer Olympics Japan  v TBD Miyagi Stadium, Rifu

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Japan under-23 team's all-time international record, correct as of 1 October 2020.

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
AFC
 Australia0000000
 China PR0000000
 Iran0000000
 Iraq0000000
 Macau0000000
 Myanmar0000000
 Qatar0000000
 Saudi Arabia0000000
 South Korea0000000
 Syria0000000
 Timor-Leste0000000
 United Arab Emirates0000000
 Uzbekistan0000000
CAF
 Nigeria0000000
CONCACAF
 Mexico0000000
CONMEBOL
 Brazil0000000
 Chile0000000
OFC
 New Zealand0000000
UEFA
 England0000000
 Portugal0000000

Future schedules

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 18 December 2020

Position Name
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu
Assistant coach Akinobu Yokouchi
Assistant coach Katsushi Kurihara
Goalkeeping coach Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Physical coach Ryoichi Matsumoto

Manager history
  • Updated on 15 January 2020 after the match against  Qatar.
Name Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Winning % Notes
Yoshitada Yamaguchi 1990–1992 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Akira Nishino 1993–1996 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Philippe Troussier 1998–2000 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Masakuni Yamamoto 2002–2004 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Yasuharu Sorimachi 2006–2008 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Takashi Sekizuka 2010–2012 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Makoto Teguramori 2014–2016 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Hajime Moriyasu 2017–2020 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Akinobu Yokouchi 2020 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Hajime Moriyasu 2020–present 0 0 0 0 00.0%

Players

Current squad
  • The final squad was announced on 29 December 2019.[2]
  • Caps and goals accurate up to and including 7 December 2020.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Ryosuke Kojima (1997-01-30)30 January 1997 (aged 22) Oita Trinita
2 2DF Yugo Tatsuta (1998-06-21)21 June 1998 (aged 21) Shimizu S-Pulse
3 2DF Tsuyoshi Watanabe (captain) (1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 22) FC Tokyo
4 3MF Daiki Suga (1998-09-10)10 September 1998 (aged 21) Consadole Sapporo
5 2DF Daiki Sugioka (1998-09-08)8 September 1998 (aged 21) Shonan Bellmare
6 3MF Mitsuki Saito (1999-01-10)10 January 1999 (aged 20) Rubin Kazan
7 3MF Shunta Tanaka (1997-05-26)26 May 1997 (aged 22) Consadole Sapporo
8 3MF Ao Tanaka (1998-09-10)10 September 1998 (aged 21) Kawasaki Frontale
9 4FW Koki Ogawa (1997-08-08)8 August 1997 (aged 22) Mito HollyHock
10 3MF Ryotaro Meshino (1998-06-18)18 June 1998 (aged 21) Rio Ave
11 3MF Keita Endo (1997-11-22)22 November 1997 (aged 22) Union Berlin
12 1GK Keisuke Osako (1999-07-28)28 July 1999 (aged 20) Sanfrecce Hiroshima
13 4FW Ayase Ueda (1998-09-10)10 September 1998 (aged 21) Kashima Antlers
14 3MF Tsukasa Morishima (1997-04-25)25 April 1997 (aged 22) Sanfrecce Hiroshima
15 2DF Makoto Okazaki (1998-10-10)10 October 1998 (aged 21) FC Tokyo
16 3MF Yuki Soma (1997-02-25)25 February 1997 (aged 22) Nagoya Grampus
17 2DF Koki Machida (1997-08-25)25 August 1997 (aged 22) Kashima Antlers
18 4FW Kyosuke Tagawa (1999-02-11)11 February 1999 (aged 20) FC Tokyo
19 4FW Reo Hatate (1997-11-21)21 November 1997 (aged 22) Kawasaki Frontale
20 2DF Taiyo Koga (1998-10-28)28 October 1998 (aged 21) Kashiwa Reysol
21 3MF Taishi Matsumoto (1998-04-22)22 April 1998 (aged 21) Sanfrecce Hiroshima
22 2DF Daiki Hashioka (1999-05-17)17 May 1999 (aged 20) Sint-Truidense V.V.
23 1GK Kosei Tani (2000-11-22)22 November 2000 (aged 19) Gamba Osaka

Recent call-ups
  • The following players have been called up to the Japan under-23 squad in the past 12 months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up

Olympic Games

AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Asian Games

Records
As of 22 January 2021
Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

Competitive record

Olympic Games

AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Asian Games

See also
Japan
Men's
Women's

References
  1. Hyung-Jin Yoon (6 May 2006). "Japan - International Results U-23 (Olympic) Team [Malaysia (1) – Japan (1)]". RDFC. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. "U-23 Japan National Team Squad, Schedule - AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020". JFA. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
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