Japan

The Japanese national men's football team, nicknamed the "Blue Samurai", is the undisputed absolute hegemon in Asian football and a quasi-first-class team in world football that cannot be underestimated. Under the leadership of current coach Yasuichi Mori, the team not only ranks first in Asia, but also ranks 18th in the world in FIFA's world rankings. Japan has never missed the World Cup since its first appearance in 1998. In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it defeated Germany and Spain to advance to the top 16 in history. In the 2026 qualifiers, they secured qualification three rounds in advance with 7 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss, becoming one of the first teams in the world to advance, demonstrating an efficient competition system. Mori Yasuichi created a modern football system for the team similar to Manchester City. The team not only retains delicate ground passing and control and quick offensive and defensive transitions, but also places great emphasis on high-position pressure that is in line with today's football trends. After losing the ball, the frontcourt players will immediately launch a very aggressive counterattack and continue to attack the opponent through extremely high ball recovery efficiency. The Japanese team mainly plays a 3-4-2-1 formation, but has many variations during the game. When facing strong teams, they can quickly switch to a deadly low defensive counterattack system; when attacking, the wing backs will move to the winger position, and even the center backs will participate in the organization in advance. The tactics are very deceptive. The current Japanese team has completed its transformation from "Asia's Strong Team" to "World Challenger". In the 2026 World Cup, this "Blue Warrior" with extremely high tactical literacy, terrifying lineup depth, and both technical and physical confrontation will definitely have the ability to create an even bigger upset in the group stage and launch a strong impact on the best eight-finals result in team history. In this World Cup, the Japanese team is divided into Group F, with opponents in the same group including the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden. Although the Netherlands will face a huge test in the first game, with the current morale and tactical maturity of the team, the Japanese team is fully capable of breaking through in the group stage. For this Blue Warriors team with the ambition to "win the championship", 2026 is not only a display of strength, but also the ultimate acceptance of Japanese football's decades-long youth training and overseas strategy.