AFC · Group F
Japan
Squad value $293M · #22 of 48 by price
About Japan
Population 123M
- Japan's 1947 constitution is the oldest constitution in the world never to have been amended.
- The country is made up of 14,125 islands, though most people live on just four of them.
- Jōmon potters were shaping clay around 14,500 BC — among the oldest pottery found anywhere on Earth.
- Its imperial line is reckoned the world's oldest continuous monarchy, traced by legend to 660 BC.
- More than 90,000 species share the islands, from the metre-long Japanese giant salamander to the snow-bathing macaque.
Source: Wikipedia
The Journey
Group F- 1
Dallas · AT&T Stadium
at Netherlands ·Jun 14 D 2–2
180 m · 80k · retractable · 35°C
▸ Full time · Read the report
Full time · The Report Refused to lose
Japan 2–2 Netherlands
Twice behind, twice back level, and Japan would not be put away. Keito Nakamura answered Virgil van Dijk within six minutes, and Daichi Kamada struck in the eighty-ninth to rescue a point most had written off. Their goalkeeper made four saves to keep them in touch with a side worth nearly three times as much. This was character before quality, a refusal to accept the result the run of play kept threatening. A point earned in the last minute is one that feels like more.
Goals 51' V. van Dijk · 57' K. Nakamura · 64' C. Summerville · 89' D. Kamada
xG 0.59–0.78 ·Poss 40% ·Shots 10 (3 on target) ·Corners 4 ·GK saves 4
- 2
Monterrey · Estadio BBVA
at Tunisia ·Jun 21 W 4–0
540 m · 54k · open · 35°C 🔥
▸ Full time · Read the report
Full time · The Report A four-goal statement
Japan 4–0 Tunisia
This was a statement, delivered early and never in doubt. Kamada struck inside the opening minutes, Ueda helped himself to two more, and Ito made it four — Japan moving the ball with a speed and certainty Tunisia simply could not live with. The expected-goals line of 2.07 to 0.05 is almost comically lopsided, and it flatters the hosts if anything. Four-nil away from home, barely out of second gear. On nights like this, Japan look like a side nobody at this tournament will want to draw.
Goals 4' D. Kamada · 31' A. Ueda · 69' J. Ito · 83' A. Ueda
xG 2.07–0.05 ·Poss 62% ·Shots 11 (5 on target) ·Corners 5 ·GK saves 0
- 3
Dallas · AT&T Stadium
Sweden ·Jun 25 D 1–1
180 m · 80k · retractable · 35°C
▸ Full time · Read the report
Full time · The Report A point, and a goalkeeper
Japan 1–1 Sweden
Japan rode their luck a little and will not care a jot. Sweden had the clearer openings — five shots on target to Japan's three, eight corners to two — and yet Japan led through Daizen Maeda just before the hour, Ritsu Doan supplying. When Anthony Elanga levelled soon after, the game asked questions Japan answered largely through their goalkeeper, who made four saves to protect the point. This was discipline over dominance, the kind of result that reads better in a fortnight than it feels tonight. A draw, earned the hard way.
Goals 56' D. Maeda · 62' A. Elanga
xG —–— ·Poss —% ·Shots — (3 on target) ·Corners 2 ·GK saves 4
- 4
Houston · NRG Stadium
at Brazil ·Jun 29
15 m · 72k · retractable · 34°C
▸ Full time · Read the report
Full time · The Report A fright given, a tournament ended
Japan 1–2 Brazil
Japan will leave with their heads high and a what-if that lingers. They led Brazil — Kotaro Sano with the strike that briefly turned the form book upside down — and for an hour they made the sixth-ranked side in the field look ordinary. But quality is relentless: Casemiro levelled, their goalkeeper made four saves to keep them in it, and Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time winner finally broke them. The expected-goals line of 0.23 to 1.69 reflects the gulf, yet Japan refused to read the script. Beaten by the better side, but only just, and never overawed.
Goals 29' K. Sano · 56' Casemiro · 95' G. Martinelli
xG 0.23–1.69 ·Poss 31% ·Shots 5 (2 on target) ·Corners 2 ·GK saves 4
- 2,065
- 525
- 35°
Tap “Read the report” on a finished match for what happened. Coordinates, elevation and climate are static estimates — not official FIFA data.
Belief
Punching Up- 5
- 4.38
- #16
- #22
Belief +0.6 · Merit + Finishing
- +0.7 did the underlying play beat the market
- −0.1 did the scoreboard beat the play — conversion, keeping, luck
xG 3.87–1.47 · deserved 5.05 pts
Form & Shape
3-4-2-1- DWDL
- 8–5
- 1
- 0
Aggregate form via API-Football. Most-used shape: 3-4-2-1.
Friendship
Friendship 62Friendship 62 = co-starts + club chemistry +4
- 58
- 14
Friendship blends realized national co-starts with a club-chemistry bonus, so a settled XI and a club-spine squad both score high. Near 100 the total eases so the most-settled squads stay separated rather than all tying out. Gold lines trace the spine: teammates who share a club right now.
The squad
Tap a player for their card · the two numbers are Jornata ratings (0–99): pre-tournament capability and live tournament form · values are Jornata estimates.