Japan National Team: Samurai Blue Football Squad, Fixtures and African Kick Off Times

The Japan national team, nicknamed Samurai Blue, is the senior men's football side of Japan, governed by the Japan Football Association (JFA), which was founded in 1921. Japan have qualified for every World Cup since their first finals in 1998, and they hold the Asian Cup record with four titles, won in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. South African readers searching for the Japan soccer team will find the same side here, and the same squad, under a different word.

The squad module shows who is in the Japan squad and where those players earn their living. The results and fixtures modules show how the World Cup story has unfolded from 1998 onwards, and when a Japan match kicks off in Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Accra and Kampala. The fixtures, results and squad lists above update themselves after every match.

Who Are Samurai Blue, and Where Does the Name Come From?

Samurai Blue is the official nickname of the Japan national team, written サムライ・ブルー in Japanese. The JFA was founded in 1921, and Japan joined FIFA in 1929, rejoining in 1950 after the Second World War. The very first international came before any of that, a 5 to 0 loss to China in Tokyo on 9 May 1917. Japan later won Olympic bronze in 1968.

Japan play in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), so their competitive football runs through Asian qualifying and the AFC Asian Cup. Their first big international medal came at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where they won bronze, still the only Olympic football medal for the Japanese men. For Cameroon supporters, a direct connection is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where Japan beat the Indomitable Lions 1 to 0 in their opening group match.

Who Is in the Japan Squad, and Where Do the Players Play?

The Japan squad changes from one international window to the next, so the squad list above carries the current names, positions and clubs, and it refreshes whenever the JFA calls up a new group. Use the club column to find each selected player’s club.

Reading the list is simple: goalkeepers first, then defenders, midfielders and forwards, with caps and goals beside each name. But, the column most African readers should watch is the club, because it tells you which weekend matches will show you a Japan player in action. Premier League viewers already know names such as Wataru Endō, who joined Liverpool in 2023, Takehiro Tomiyasu, who joined Arsenal in 2021, and Kaoru Mitoma, who joined Brighton in 2021. Do not confuse Wataru Endō with Yasuhito Endō, the record cap holder, who belongs to an earlier generation.

How Can Readers Follow Japan’s World Cup Results?

Japan were drawn in Group F of the 2026 World Cup alongside the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden, and the JFA confirmed the Japan World Cup squad on 3 June 2026. The results list above carries every score from that group and from any knockout match that followed, so the full record of the tournament lives there in the results module. For African readers, Tunisia's place in the group gave the Africa Cup of Nations audience a direct stake in every Japan result that summer.

Read the competition label in the fixtures module to distinguish World Cup matches, AFC Asian Cup matches, qualifiers and friendlies. Check it alongside the opponent, venue and kick off time to see the context of each fixture.

Japan Fixtures: What Time Is Kick Off Where You Live?

Japan Standard Time sits nine hours ahead of GMT all year, with no clock change, and none of our five countries changes its clocks either, so the gap never moves. A 19:00 kick off in Tokyo is 10:00 GMT in Accra, 11:00 WAT in Lagos, 12:00 SAST in Johannesburg and 13:00 EAT in Nairobi and Kampala. For this 19:00 Tokyo example, the kick off falls between mid morning and lunchtime in the five markets.

Matches played in Europe or the Americas move into the African afternoon or evening, which is why the fixtures list shows each date with the opponent, competition, venue and the time in WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT together. World Cup matches were shown on pay TV and free to air channels across Africa. Rights for friendlies vary from country to country, so the broadcaster for each match sits in the fixtures list as data for your own country.

What Have Japan Won?

Japan's biggest honour is the AFC Asian Cup, which they have won four times, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011, more than any other nation. They also reached the 2019 final and lost to Qatar, a reminder that the gap at the top of Asian football has narrowed. Beyond Asia, Japan finished runners up at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, a tournament they hosted with South Korea, which was a strong sign of the side that would follow a year later.

At the World Cup, Japan have qualified for every edition since 1998. In 2002 they hosted the tournament jointly with South Korea and reached the Round of 16 for the first time, then repeated that in 2010, 2018 and 2022 without going further. It could be argued that this is the one missing line on the honours list. A single knockout win at a World Cup is the step that would change how the rest of the world talks about Samurai Blue.

Which Results Made Japan's Name at the World Cup?

Qatar 2022 is the tournament that put Japan into every viewing centre conversation in Lagos, because they beat Germany 2 to 1 and then Spain 2 to 1 in the group stage and finished top of Group E. Both wins came from behind, which says plenty about the belief in that squad. Japanese supporters were also widely reported at that tournament for tidying the stands after their matches, a habit that travelled well on African timelines and is easy to admire.

Four times Japan have reached the Round of 16, and four times the door has stayed shut, often by the narrowest of margins. The 2018 match against Belgium is the one fans remember most, because Japan led before Belgium came back to win. Twice, in 2010 and 2022, Japan went out on penalties. The table below lists each exit with the opponent, and the results list above keeps the full scores.

Who Coaches Japan, and How Do They Play?

The current head coach and his record sit in the squad module above, because that is the sort of detail that changes with results, but the modern Japan style was set clearly under Hajime Moriyasu, who led the side at the 2022 World Cup. His Japan were happy to defend compactly and wait, then raise the tempo after half time with quick wingers and bold substitutions, which is exactly how the Germany and Spain comebacks were built. In my opinion, that patience is the most useful thing an African coach could borrow from them.

Who Holds the Japan Records?

Yasuhito Endō holds the record for Japan appearances with 152 caps, and Kunishige Kamamoto is the all time top scorer with 75 goals, a tally from an earlier era that has proved very hard to approach. Kamamoto was part of the side that won Olympic bronze in 1968, so his record and the country's first great medal belong to the same generation. The records list above shows where today's players stand against both marks, and it updates after every international match.

How Have Japan Fared Against African Sides?

Because Japan play in Asia, they meet African teams only at World Cups, Olympics and friendlies, which makes each meeting stand out. At the World Cup, Japan beat Cameroon 1 to 0 in 2010, lost 2 to 1 to Côte d'Ivoire in 2014 and drew 2 to 2 with Senegal in 2018, before facing Tunisia in Group F in 2026. Ghanaian readers will remember the June 2022 friendly that Japan won 4 to 1 against the Black Stars. Our national teams section covers every African side on that list.

The easiest way to follow Japanese players from Africa is through the leagues you already watch. Shinji Kagawa at Manchester United and Takumi Minamino at Liverpool were the first bridge for many Premier League fans, and later players with English clubs have followed. Check the club column in the squad list, then watch those clubs at the weekend. It is the closest thing to a weekly Japan fix while the national team waits for its next international window.

Is It Samurai Blue or Blue Samurai?

Samurai Blue is the official nickname, though many readers in Nigeria and Ghana search for Blue Samurai, and both lead to the same team. Japan national team, Japan football team players and Japan World Cup squad all describe the same senior men's side governed by the JFA. In South Africa you will often hear national team used in the same way people speak about Bafana Bafana, and Japan football team works just as well, so whichever words you type, the squad, fixtures and records above are the ones you are after.