Japan national football team (Samurai Blue)

Japan is the most successful nation in the history of the Asian Cup, having won the competition in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011.

Japan qualified for their first World Cup in 1998 and have participated in every finals since. Their best results came in 2002 and 2010 as they reached the second round.

Nicknamed the "Samurai Blue", Japan were invited to compete in the Copa America tournament of 1999 becoming the only non-American nation to do so.

The J League is becoming a recognised exporter of talent. Perhaps Japan?s most well-known player was Hidetoshi Nakata who played for the national side from 1997 ? 2006. Current icons Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda are playing in England and Russia respectively.

Japan are now a consistently dominant team in Asian qualification and on 4th June 2013 became the first nation to secure qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.