Japan women's national football team

During the 1970s, the number of women football players and teams increased in Japan, and teams made up regional leagues in various parts of Japan. In 1977, the Japan team participated its first international tournament, 1977 AFC Women's Championship. But, this Japan team was not a national team, Japan Football Association dispatched club team, FC Jinnan as a Japan team. In 1980, "All-Japan Women's Football Championship" was held. In 1981, Japan Football Association formed first national team for 1981 AFC Women's Championship[6] and Seiki Ichihara managed as first Japan national team manager.[2] The first match against Chinese Taipei on 7 June at this tournament is the first match for Japan national team history.[2] In 1984, national team was formed for the first time in three years for a China expedition, and Takao Orii managed national team.[2]

In January 1986, Ryohei Suzuki became first full-time manager for national team. In December, Japan won the 2nd place at 1986 AFC Women's Championship. In 1989, the "Japan Women's Football League" (abbreviated to "L. League") was established, and the women's national team qualified for the "1991 FIFA Women's World Cup" in China.

Japan women's national football team attended various championship tournaments such as the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup which had made the national team and the L.League very popular. However, in 1999, Japan failed to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics, and this helped to cause with economic stagnation (Lost Decade) the withdrawal of a series of teams from the L. League. Japanese women's football was on the verge of decline.

In August 2002, the Japan Football Association appointed Eiji Ueda, who had been coach for the Macau national football team, as the new head coach. Officials expected a revitalization of women's football and planned a team reorganization, aiming for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The team at first went through a losing streak, but Ueda gradually improved the team, and it eventually gained wide support in Japan. In particular, a game against Korea DPR, which decided who would participate in the 2004 Olympics, not only made fans rush to the National Stadium but also was widely watched on TV.

Following the increase in public interest in women's football in Japan, the JFA organized a public contest to select a nickname for the team. "Nadeshiko Japan" was chosen from among about 2,700 entries and was announced on 7 July 2004. "Nadeshiko", a kind of dianthus, comes from the phrase "Yamato Nadeshiko" (大和撫子, "ideal Japanese woman").

Japan was dropped with Germany, Canada and Argentina during 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Beginning by a 6–0 thrash to newcomer Argentina, but later Japan fell on 0–3 loss to later champion Germany, and 1–3 to Canada, who later won 4th place.

Again, in 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup held in China, they again faced Germany, Argentina and England. They started with a 2–2 draw over England, before beating Argentina 1–0 after 90'. But a 0–2 loss over reigning champion Germany again eliminated Japan from the group stage. Japan's disappointing campaign through two decisive Women's World Cup would not have expected to lead to a 2011 triumph.

The Japan team thanking fans for their support for the humanitarian response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami after their World Cup win[7][8]

Japan qualified for the finals by finishing third in the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup. After finishing second in their group behind England, Japan beat two-time defending champion and host nation Germany 1–0 in the quarterfinals, before easily defeating Sweden 3–1 to reach the final.

After the final game finished 2–2 after extra time, Japan beat the United States 3–1 in a penalty shootout, becoming the first Asian team to win the FIFA Women's World Cup, and the first Asian team to win a senior FIFA title.[9][10] It came right after men's team won the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, marked their most successful year in Japanese football.

Japan qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics by finishing first in the Asian qualifier in September 2011, only 6 weeks after winning the Women's World Cup. At the Olympics, after finishing second in their group behind Sweden, Nadeshiko Japan defeated Brazil 2–0 in the quarterfinals, followed by a 2–1 victory over France, whom Nadeshiko had lost to in a friendly match right before the Olympics, to reach the final.

In a rematch of the World Cup final, Japan was defeated in the Olympic final by a score of 1–2 against the United States, allowing two goals to Carli Lloyd in the 8th and 54th minutes. Yūki Ōgimi scored the lone goal for Japan.[11]

Nadeshiko, 2013

Despite having won a FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011, Japan entered the 2014 Asian Cup having never previously won the tournament. They were drawn with Asia's Queen Australia, host Vietnam and newcomer Jordan. Their first match in the group stage of the tournament resulted in a 2–2 draw against the defending champion Australia.[12] Also in the group stage, Japan upset host Vietnam by a 4–0 win before defeating Jordan with a 7–0 win to finish first with a higher goal difference.

In the semi-final, Japan beat eight-time champions China 2–1 after 120'. In the final, they met Australia once again and successfully earned a 1–0 win with Azusa Iwashimizu's goal. This marked the first time for Japan to become "Queen of Asia". They became the first Asian team to subsequently win both the FIFA Women's World Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup. Because of their top placement in the tournament, Japan, Australia, China, South Korea and newcomer Thailand secured their spot at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup to be played in Canada the following year.[13]

The national teams of Japan and the United States at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Japan, then fourth in the world, was drawn into Group C for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, with tournament debutants Ecuador, Switzerland, and Cameroon. Japan won all three games, securing passage into the Round of 16, where they drew yet another tournament debutant in the Netherlands. Saori Ariyoshi and Mizuho Sakaguchi scored goals for Japan, and they ultimately survived a couple of nervy moments to get into the quarterfinals. Against Australia, Japan once again used their technical possession game to frustrate The Matildas and negate their speed. Mana Iwabuchi notched the only goal of the game three minutes from time to send Japan to the semifinals.

Against England in the semifinals, Nadeshiko Japan was able to survive against the tenacious Lionesses, as the two teams traded goals from the penalty spot (Aya Miyama for Japan, Fara Williams for England). Deadlocked from the 40th minute on, Japan got a truly fortunate break as English centre back Laura Bassett, in trying to clear out a Japan cross, ended up scoring an own-goal at the death. This set up a rematch with the United States from the 2011 Women's World Cup.

Unfortunately for Japan, the Americans came out flying and scored four goals in the first 16 minutes of the match, with American midfielder Carli Lloyd scoring a hat trick in the process. Yuki Ogimi brought Japan one back in the 27th minute, and an own goal from Julie Johnston halved the American lead, but Tobin Heath put the final touch on the United States' third Women's World Cup victory.

The Japan women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Nadeshiko Japan".

Japan play its home matches among various stadiums, in rotation, around the country.

The Japan and South Korea national football teams are sporting rivals.

• Source: Japan national team 2021 schedule

As of 25 February 2020

Position	Name
Head coach	Asako Takakura
Assistant coach	Yumi Obe
Goalkeeping coach	Akiyoshi Ohashi
Physical coach	Norikazu Hirose

• Updated on 11 March 2020 after the match against  United States.

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Winning %	Notes
Seiki Ichihara (市原 聖曠)	1981	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Takao Orii (折井 孝男)	1984	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Ryohei Suzuki (鈴木 良平)	1986–1989	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Satoshi Miyauchi (宮内 聡)	1997–1999	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Shinobu Ikeda (池田 司信)	2000–2001	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Eiji Ueda (上田 栄治)	2002–2004	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Hiroshi Ohashi (大橋 浩司)	2004–2008	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Norio Sasaki (佐々木 則夫)	2008–2016	0	0	0	0	00.0%
Asako Takakura (高倉 麻子)	2016–present	0	0	0	0	00.0%

• The following 27 players were named to the squad for a training camp on 23–29 November 2020.[16]
• Caps and goals are correct as of 12 March 2020, after match against  United States.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Sakiko Ikeda (池田 咲紀子)	(1992-09-08) 8 September 1992	16	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	1GK	Mamiko Matsumoto (松本 真未子)	(1997-10-09) 9 October 1997	0	0	Mynavi Sendai
	1GK	Hannah Stambaugh (スタンボー 華)	(1998-12-24) 24 December 1998	0	0	INAC Kobe Leonessa
	2DF	Aya Sameshima (鮫島 彩)	(1987-06-16) 16 June 1987	113	5	INAC Kobe Leonessa
	2DF	Saki Kumagai (熊谷 紗希) (captain)	(1990-10-17) 17 October 1990	112	1	Lyon
	2DF	Arisa Matsubara (松原 有沙)	(1995-05-01) 1 May 1995	4	1	Nojima Stella
	2DF	Risa Shimizu (清水 梨紗)	(1996-06-15) 15 June 1996	33	0	Nippon TV Beleza
	2DF	Kiko Seike (清家 貴子)	(1996-08-08) 8 August 1996	2	1	Urawa Red Diamonds
	2DF	Moeka Minami (南 萌華)	(1998-12-07) 7 December 1998	12	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	2DF	Nanami Kitamura (北村 菜々美)	(1999-11-25) 25 November 1999	0	0	Cerezo Osaka
	2DF	Saori Takarada (宝田 沙織)	(1999-12-27) 27 December 1999	3	0	Washington Spirit
	2DF	Hana Takahashi (高橋 はな)	(2000-02-19) 19 February 2000	1	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	3MF	Emi Nakajima (中島 依美)	(1990-09-27) 27 September 1990	81	14	INAC Kobe Leonessa
	3MF	Hikaru Naomoto (猶本 光)	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994	20	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	3MF	Miki Ito (伊藤 美紀)	(1995-09-10) 10 September 1995	0	0	INAC Kobe Leonessa
	3MF	Yuki Mizutani (水谷 有希)	(1996-04-11) 11 April 1996	0	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	3MF	Yui Hasegawa (長谷川 唯)	(1997-01-29) 29 January 1997	42	8	Milan
	3MF	Hina Sugita (杉田 妃和)	(1997-01-31) 31 January 1997	18	0	INAC Kobe Leonessa
	3MF	Narumi Miura (三浦 成美)	(1997-07-03) 3 July 1997	20	0	Nippon TV Beleza
	3MF	Yuzuho Shiokoshi (塩越 柚歩)	(1997-11-01) 1 November 1997	0	0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	3MF	Honoka Hayashi (林 穂之香)	(1998-05-19) 19 May 1998	1	0	Cerezo Osaka
	3MF	Reina Wakisaka (脇阪 麗奈)	(1999-05-02) 2 May 1999	0	0	Cerezo Osaka
	3MF	Jun Endo (遠藤 純)	(2000-05-24) 24 May 2000	14	0	Nippon TV Beleza
	4FW	Megumi Takase (高瀬 愛実)	(1990-11-10) 10 November 1990	61	9	INAC Kobe Leonessa
	4FW	Haruka Hamada (浜田 遥)	(1993-01-26) 26 January 1993	0	0	Mynavi Sendai
	4FW	Mina Tanaka (田中 美南)	(1994-04-28) 28 April 1994	41	16	Bayer Leverkusen
	4FW	Mami Ueno (上野 真実)	(1996-09-27) 27 September 1996	8	0	Ehime FC

• The following players have been called up to the Japan squad in the past 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Erina Yamane (山根 恵里奈)	(1990-12-20) 20 December 1990	26	0	JEF United Chiba	Training camp, 19–26 October 2020
GK	Ayaka Yamashita (山下 杏也加)	(1995-09-29) 29 September 1995	37	0	Nippon TV Beleza	Training camp, 19–26 October 2020
GK	Chika Hirao (平尾 知佳)	(1996-12-31) 31 December 1996	2	0	Albirex Niigata	2020 SheBelieves Cup
DF	Asato Miyagawa (宮川 麻都)	(1998-02-24) 24 February 1998	11	0	Nippon TV Beleza	Training camp, 23–29 November 2020 INJ
DF	Nana Ichise (市瀬 菜々)	(1997-08-04) 4 August 1997	19	0	Mynavi Sendai	Training camp, 19–26 October 2020
DF	Shiori Miyake (三宅 史織)	(1995-10-13) 13 October 1995	24	0	INAC Kobe Leonessa	2020 SheBelieves Cup
DF	Mayo Doko (土光 真代)	(1996-05-03) 3 May 1996	4	0	Nippon TV Beleza	2020 SheBelieves Cup
MF	Yuka Momiki (籾木 結花)	(1996-04-09) 9 April 1996	33	10	OL Reign	2020 SheBelieves Cup
FW	Mana Iwabuchi (岩渕 真奈)	(1993-03-18) 18 March 1993	72	29	Aston Villa	Training camp, 19–26 October 2020
FW	Rikako Kobayashi (小林 里歌子)	(1997-07-21) 21 July 1997	12	4	Nippon TV Beleza	Training camp, 19–26 October 2020
FW	Yuika Sugasawa (菅澤 優衣香)	(1990-10-05) 5 October 1990	71	20	Urawa Red Diamonds	Training camp, 19–26 October 2020 INJ
FW	Mayu Ikejiri (池尻 茉由)	(1996-12-19) 19 December 1996	7	2	Mynavi Sendai	2020 SheBelieves Cup
FW	Riko Ueki (植木 理子)	(1999-07-30) 30 July 1999	5	0	Nippon TV Beleza	2020 SheBelieves Cup

Notes:

• INJ = Withdrew due to injury

• FIFA Women's World Cup

Champions: 2011

Runners-up: 2015

• Olympic Games

Runners-up: 2012

• AFC Women's Asian Cup

Champions: 2014, 2018

Runners-up: 1986, 1991, 1995, 2001

• Asian Games

Champions: 2010, 2018

Runners-up: 1990, 1994, 2006, 2014

• EAFF E-1 Football Championship

Champions: 2008, 2010, 2019

Runners-up: 2013, 2017

• Algarve Cup

Runners-up: 2012, 2014

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Hosts / Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1991	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12
1995	Quarter-finals	4	1	0	3	2	8	−6
1999	Group stage	3	0	1	2	1	10	−9
2003		3	1	0	2	7	6	+1
2007		3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
2011	Champions	6	4	1	1	12	6	+6
2015	Runners-up	7	6	0	1	11	8	+3
2019	Round of 16	4	1	1	2	3	5	−2
2023	To be determined
Total	8/9	33	14	4	15	39	59	−20

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

FIFA Women's World Cup history
Year	Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Stadium
1991	Group stage	17 November	Brazil	L 0–1	New Plaza Stadium, Foshan
		19 November	Sweden	L 0–8
		21 November	United States	L 0–3
1995	Group stage	5 June	Germany	L 0–1	Tingvallen, Karlstad
		7 June	Brazil	W 2–1
		9 June	Sweden	L 0–2	Arosvallen, Västerås
	Quarter-finals	13 June	United States	L 0–4	Strömvallen, Gävle
1999	Group stage	19 June	Canada	D 1–1	Spartan Stadium, San Jose
		23 June	Russia	L 0–5	Civic Stadium, Portland
		26 June	Norway	L 0–4	Soldier Field, Chicago
2003	Group stage	20 September	Argentina	W 6–0	Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus
		24 September	Germany	L 0–3
		27 September	Canada	L 1–3	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
2007	Group stage	11 September	England	D 2–2	Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai
		14 September	Argentina	W 1–0
		17 September	Germany	L 0–2	Yellow Dragon Sports Center, Hangzhou
2011	Group stage	27 June	New Zealand	W 2–1	Ruhrstadion, Bochum
		1 July	Mexico	W 4–0	BayArena, Leverkusen
		5 July	England	L 0–2	Impuls Arena, Augsburg
	Quarter-finals	9 July	Germany	W 1–0	Volkswagen-Arena, Wolfsburg
	Semi-finals	13 July	Sweden	W 3–1	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt
	Final	17 July	United States	D 2–2 (3–1 pen)
2015	Group stage	8 June	Switzerland	W 1–0	BC Place, Vancouver
		12 June	Cameroon	W 2–1
		16 June	Ecuador	W 1–0	Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg
	Round of 16	23 June	Netherlands	W 2–1	BC Place, Vancouver
	Quarter-finals	27 June	Australia	W 1–0	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
	Semi-finals	1 July	England	W 2–1
	Final	5 July	United States	L 2–5	BC Place, Vancouver
2019	Group stage	10 June	Argentina	D 0–0	Parc des Princes, Paris
		14 June	Scotland	W 2–1	Roazhon Park, Rennes
		19 June	England	L 0–2	Allianz Riviera, Nice
	Round of 16	25 June	Netherlands	L 1–2	Roazhon Park, Rennes

Summer Olympics record
Hosts / Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1996	Round 1	3	0	0	3	2	9	−7
2000	Did not qualify
2004	Quarter-finals	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
2008	Fourth place	6	2	1	3	11	10	+1
2012	Runners-up	6	3	2	1	7	4	+3
2016	Did not qualify
2020	Qualified as hosts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	5/7	18	6	3	9	22	26	−4

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Summer Olympics history
Year	Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Stadium
1996	Round 1	21 July	Germany	L 2–3	Legion Field, Birmingham
		23 July	Brazil	L 0–2
		25 July	Norway	L 0–4	RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
2004	Round 1	11 August	Sweden	W 1–0	Panthessaliko Stadium, Volos
		14 August	Nigeria	L 0–1	Karaiskaki Stadium, Athens
	Quarter-finals	20 August	United States	L 1–2	Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki
2008	Round 1	6 August	New Zealand	D 2–2	Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
		9 August	United States	L 0–1
		12 August	Norway	W 5–1	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
	Quarter-finals	15 August	China PR	W 2–0	Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao
	Semi-finals	18 August	United States	L 2–4	Workers Stadium, Beijing
	Third place	21 August	Germany	L 0–2
2012	Round 1	25 July	Canada	W 2–1	City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry
		28 July	Sweden	D 0–0
		31 July	South Africa	D 0–0	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	Quarter-finals	3 August	Brazil	W 2–0
	Semi-finals	6 August	France	W 2–1	Wembley Stadium, London
	Final	9 August	United States	L 1–2
2020	Round 1	21 July	Group E2		Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
		24 July	Group E3
		27 July	Group E4		Miyagi Stadium, Rifu

AFC Women's Asian Cup record
Hosts / Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1975	Did not enter
1977	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
1979	Did not enter
1981	Group stage	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2
1983	Did not enter
1986	Runners-up	4	2	0	2	14	4	+10
1989	Third place	5	4	0	1	37	1	+36
1991	Runners-up	6	4	1	1	27	6	+21
1993	Third place	5	4	0	1	29	4	+25
1995	Runners-up	5	4	0	1	27	3	+24
1997	Third place	5	4	0	1	33	1	+32
1999	Fourth place	6	4	0	2	36	6	+30
2001	Runners-up	6	4	0	2	30	5	+25
2003	Fourth place	6	4	0	2	34	4	+30
2006		5	3	0	2	19	6	+13
2008	Third place	5	3	0	2	19	7	+12
2010		5	4	0	1	16	2	+14
2014	Champions	5	4	1	0	16	3	+13
2018		5	3	2	0	9	2	+7
2022	TBD	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	16/19	78	52	4	22	347	65	+282

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Asian Games record
Hosts / Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	GD
1990	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	17	8	+9
1994		4	2	1	1	9	3	+6
1998	Third place	5	3	0	2	18	7	+11
2002		5	3	1	1	8	3	+5
2006	Runners-up	5	4	1	0	21	1	+20
2010	Champions	4	3	1	0	6	0	+6
2014	Runners-up	6	4	1	1	28	3	+25
2018	Champions	5	5	0	0	14	2	+12
2022	TBD	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2026	TBD	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	7/7	34	22	6	6	107	25	+82

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.