Japan has a proud and storied history at the World Cup since first appearing in 1998, qualifying for every subsequent tournament and securing some memorable results.
Two of those came in 2022 when the Samurai Blue conquered both Germany and Spain during the group stage, but falling to Croatia in the last 16 penalty shootout meant another tournament without reaching the quarterfinals. Japan will hope to make the unprecedented journey to the last eight for its first World Cup in North America.
