2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Japan

Ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, we here at For The Win are previewing some key teams to watch in this tournament. Next up is the Japan women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

Japan’s women’s national team is now a decade removed from winning the FIFA World Cup.

But it isn’t unreasonable to think it could potentially return to glory with a triumphant run during the upcoming tournament. While this is a younger team, it still has players with experience winning at the biggest stages on the roster.

Japan is currently considered a sneaky choice to potentially win the whole tournament. It has the 11th-highest ranking among all teams to qualify, and the second-best odds (behind Spain) to win Group C.

So as the tournament kicks off, here’s a look at what you need to know about Japan in the 2023 World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

Japan's group and schedule

Japan is in Group C, along with Zambia, Costa Rica and Spain. Here’s the group stage schedule for Japan:

July 22 vs. Zambia | 3:00 a.m. ET on FS1
July 26 vs. Costa Rica | 1 a.m. ET on FS1
July 31 vs. Spain | 3 a.m. ET on FOX

2023 World Cup Betting Breakdown Group C: Spain looks to pose major threat

Key players for Japan

Yui Hasegawa: The 26-year-old midfielder for Manchester City, Hasegawa also played for Japan at the 2019 World Cup. She was nominated for Goal of the Tournament during a loss against the Netherlands in the Round of 16. She also represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Hasegawa received a nomination for Goal of the Season for the Women’s Super League in 2022.

Saki Kumagai: While she isn’t the player she once was, the 32-year-old defensive midfielder remains the captain of the Japanese women’s team. She famously scored the game-winning goal against Team USA in the 2011 World Cup Final. Kumagai was named Asian Women’s Player of the Year at the AFC Annual Awards in 2019. She was also named to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Women’s Team of the Decade in 2020. Kumagai recently signed to play with AS Roma in Italy after a long career playing with Lyon in France.

Hina Sugita: The 26-year-old midfielder currently plays for the Portland Thorns in the NWSL. She has played for the Japanese youth national teams since she was 15 years old, even serving five matches as captain during the U17 Women’s World Cup in 2014. Sugita was honored as the MVP of the tournament and also won the Golden Ball Award at the U20 Women’s World Cup in 2016.

Japan's recent World Cup history

This will be the ninth time (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) that Japan has played in the Women’s World Cup. It made the quarterfinals in 1995 and won the championship in 2011. It’s the only Asian country to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It was also the runner-up in 2015 and made the Round of 16 in 2019. Kumagai is the only player remaining from the team that won the title in 2011.

What the experts are saying about Team Japan

Here is the latest analysis of what we can expect from the Nadeshiko.

Via The Guardian:

“The Nadeshiko, Japan women’s national team, had a magnificent start to the 2010s, being crowned champions at the 2011 World Cup in Germany, earning a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012, before a runners-up finish at the 2015 World Cup in Canada. However, the reality is that the current generation has not yet lived up to the heightened expectations, with elimination from the last 16 in the 2019 World Cup and a quarter-final exit at their home Olympics two years ago.

[…]

Japan are of course aiming to become world champions, but the first goal is to reach the quarter-finals after failure to do so in 2019. In Group C Japan face Zambia, Costa Rica then a difficult test against Spain. The team are still developing and Japan should be able to grow into title contenders through the tournament.

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