Japan national under-23 football team

The Japan national under-23 football team is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games and were champions in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. The head coach is Koichi Togashi. Since 1992, it was decided that teams targeting athletes under the age of 23 will participate in the Olympics (additional provisions for overage limits have been added since 1996). Therefore, the name changes to Japan national under-22 football team the year before the Olympics and Japan national under-21 football team two years prior. The exception to this is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed for one year, so in 2021, the team will be called the Japan national under-24 football team.

Japan U23
AssociationJapan Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationEAFF (East Asia)
Head coachKoichi Togashi
Most capsKensuke Nagai
Keigo Higashi
Reo Hatate
(31 each)
Top scorerShoya Nakajima (19)
FIFA codeJPN
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Malaysia 1–1 Japan 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; December 1990)[1]
Biggest win
 Japan 13–0 Philippines 
(Hong Kong; 12 June 1999)
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 6–1 Japan 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 6 February 1994)
Summer Olympic Games
Appearances7 (first in 1996)
Best resultFourth place (2012, 2020)
Asian Games
Appearances5 (first in 2002)
Best result Gold medalists (2010)
AFC U-23 Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2013)
Best result Champions (2016)

Team image

Nicknames

"サムライ・ブルー (Samurai Blue)" basically refers to the Japan national football team, but the under-23 football team are sometimes referred to as "Young" Samurai Blue. However, in reality, Samurai Blue is not often used.

South Korea
Main article: Japan–South Korea football rivalry

Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea.

Summer Olympics
Television channel Period Ref.
NHK General TV, NHK Educational TV, NHK BS1, NHK BS4K, NHK BS8K,TV Asahi, BS Asahi 4K, Fuji TV 2021 [2]

AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Television channel Period Ref.

Friendly and Qualifiers
Television channel Period Ref.
Fuji TV, Nippon TV, TBS, Nittele G+, BS Asahi, TVer 2021

Results and fixtures
See also: 2021 in Japanese football, 2021 in association football, and 2021 in sports
Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Voided or Postponed   Fixture

2021
26 March Saison Card Cup Japan  0–1  Argentina Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan
19:00 UTC+9 Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium
Attendance: 8,416
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
29 March Saison Card Cup Japan  3–0  Argentina Kitakyushu, Japan
19:45 UTC+9
Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)		 Stadium: Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu
Attendance: 7,302
Referee: C. R. Srikrishna (India)
3 June Unofficial friendly Japan A 3–0  Japan Hokkaido, Japan
19:30 UTC+9
Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)		 Stadium: Sapporo Dome
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mohamed Darwish (UAE)
5 June Friendly Japan  6–0  Ghana Fukuoka, Japan
19:25 UTC+9
Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)		 Stadium: Best Denki Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara (Japan)
12 June Friendly Japan  4–0  Jamaica Toyota, Aichi, Japan
13:35 UTC+9
Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)		 Stadium: Toyota Stadium
Attendance: 4,029
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)
12 July Kirin Challenge Cup (Under-24) Japan  3–1  Honduras Osaka, Japan
19:30 UTC+9
Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium
Attendance: 4,063
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara (Japan)
17 July Kirin Challenge Cup (Under-24) Japan  1–1  Spain Hyogo, Japan
19:20 UTC+9
Report (JFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe
Attendance: 4,909
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)
22 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group A Japan  1–0  South Africa Tokyo, Japan
20:00 UTC+9
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Report (JFA)		 Stadium: Tokyo Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
25 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group A Japan  2–1  Mexico Saitama, Japan
20:00 UTC+9
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 0
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
28 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group A France  0–4  Japan Yokohama, Japan
20:30 UTC+9 Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama
Attendance: 0
Referee: Iván Barton (El Savador)
31 July 2020 Summer Olympics Quarter-finals Japan  0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		  New Zealand Ibaraki, Japan
18:00 UTC+9 Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Report (JFA)		 Stadium: Kashima Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
Penalties
3 August 2020 Summer Olympics Semi-finals Japan  0–1 (a.e.t.)  Spain Saitama, Japan
20:00 UTC+9 Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 0
Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)
6 August 2020 Summer Olympics Bronze medal match Mexico  3–1  Japan Saitama, Japan
18:00 UTC+9
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Report (JFA)
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 0
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
26 October 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification Group K Japan  4–0  Cambodia Hirono, Japan
13:00 UTC+9 Matsuki  10'
Koda  44'
Hosoya  52'
Nakamura  73'		 Report Stadium: J-Village Stadium
28 October 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification Group K Hong Kong  0–4  Japan Hirono, Japan
13:00 UTC+9 Report Fujio  14', 49'
Goke  63'
Hosoya  85'		 Stadium: J-Village Stadium

2022
June 2022 (2022-06) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Japan  v TBD TBD, Uzbekistan
TBD Stadium: TBD
June 2022 (2022-06) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup TBD v  Japan TBD, Uzbekistan
TBD Stadium: TBD
June 2022 (2022-06) 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup TBD v  Japan TBD, Uzbekistan
TBD Stadium: TBD
September 2022 (2022-09) 2022 Asian Games TBD v  Japan TBD, China
TBD Stadium: TBD
September 2022 (2022-09) 2022 Asian Games TBD v  Japan TBD, China
TBD Stadium: TBD
September 2022 (2022-09) 2022 Asian Games TBD v  Japan TBD, China
TBD Stadium: TBD

Head-to-head record
As of 28 October 2021

The following table shows Japan under-23 team's all-time international record.

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Confederation
 Australia104061715+2AFC
 Bahrain210162+4AFC
 Cambodia220060+6AFC
 China PR730485+3AFC
 Chinese Taipei4400151+14AFC
 Hong Kong6501154+11AFC
 Indonesia3200103+7AFC
 India110010+1AFC
 Iran5221107+3AFC
 Iraq411246–2AFC
 Jordan1010220AFC
 Kuwait5320152+13AFC
 Lebanon220061+5AFC
 Macau3300210+21AFC
 Malaysia171340477+40AFC
 Myanmar2200160+16AFC
   Nepal5500210+21AFC
 Oman110041+3AFC
 North Korea220043+1AFC
 Qatar522154+1AFC
 Saudi Arabia540196+3AFC
 South Korea175392120+1AFC
 Palestine440091+8AFC
 Philippines3300320+32AFC
 Pakistan220072+5AFC
 Singapore220041+3AFC
 Syria2101220AFC
 Thailand10901263+23AFC
 Timor-Leste220070+7AFC
 Uzbekistan100104–4AFC
 United Arab Emirates531172+5AFC
 Vietnam210121+1AFC
 Ghana4301112+9CAF
 Morocco330072+5CAF
 Egypt621328–6CAF
 Angola1010110CAF
 Nigeria300359–4CAF
 South Africa330061+5CAF
 Mali1010110CAF
 Mexico411269–3CONCACAF
 United States302145–1CONCACAF
 Canada100101–1CONCACAF
 Costa Rica412154+1CONCACAF
 Jamaica2200130+13CONCACAF
 Honduras211031+2CONCACAF
 Brazil522165+1CONMEBOL
 Chile110061+5CONMEBOL
 Colombia201124–2CONMEBOL
 Venezuela110040+4CONMEBOL
 Argentina320141+3CONMEBOL
 Paraguay100134–1CONMEBOL
 Ecuador100101–1CONMEBOL
 Denmark201116–5UEFA
 England211021+1UEFA
 Italy200226–4UEFA
 France110040+4UEFA
 Greece1010110UEFA
 Kazakhstan220051+4UEFA
 Germany210173+4UEFA
 Hungary110032+1UEFA
 Portugal100101–1UEFA
 Republic of Ireland110020+2UEFA
 Netherlands100101–1UEFA
 Norway100123–1UEFA
 Russia522175+2UEFA
 Spain3111220UEFA
 Sweden110010+1UEFA
  Switzerland110021+1UEFA
 Slovakia110021+1UEFA
 Tunisia310246–2UEFA
 New Zealand422091+8OFC
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Confederation

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff
As of 23 October 2021
Role Name
Head coach Koichi Togashi
Assistant coach Akira Mutō
Role model coach Atsuto Uchida
Goalkeeping coach Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Physical coach Yoshiharu Yano

Manager history
As of 29 March 2021 after the match against  Argentina.
Name Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Winning % Notes
Yoshitada Yamaguchi 1990–1992 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Akira Nishino 1993–1996 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Philippe Troussier 1998–2000 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Masakuni Yamamoto 2002–2004 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Yasuharu Sorimachi 2006–2008 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Takashi Sekizuka 2010–2012 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Makoto Teguramori 2014–2016 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Hajime Moriyasu 2017–2020 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Akinobu Yokouchi 2020 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Hajime Moriyasu 2020–2021 0 0 0 0 00.0%
Koichi Togashi 2021– 0 0 0 0 00.0%

source:[3]

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were named to the squad for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification, against  Cambodia and  Hong Kong on 26 and 28 October 2021.

Caps and goals accurate up to and including 6 August 2021 after match against Mexico.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Yuma Obata (2001-11-07) 7 November 2001 Vegalta Sendai
12 1GK Masato Sasaki (2002-05-01) 1 May 2002 Kashiwa Reysol
23 1GK Mitsuki Sugimoto (2001-08-17) 17 August 2001 Rissho University
2 2DF Reon Yamahara (1999-06-08) 8 June 1999 Shimizu S-Pulse
3 2DF Taiga Hata (2002-01-20) 20 January 2002 Shonan Bellmare
4 2DF Ryotaro Tsunoda (1999-06-27) 27 June 1999 Yokohama F. Marinos
5 2DF Seiya Baba (2001-10-24) 24 October 2001 Tokyo Verdy
15 2DF Hijiri Kato (2001-09-16) 16 September 2001 V-Varen Nagasaki
16 2DF Riku Handa (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 Montedio Yamagata
20 2DF Maaya Sako (2002-12-02) 2 December 2002 Fujieda MYFC
22 2DF Anrie Chase (2004-08-24) 24 August 2004 Shoshi High School
6 3MF Renji Matsui (2000-02-27) 27 February 2000 Hosei University
7 3MF Yuito Suzuki (2001-10-25) 25 October 2001 Shimizu S-Pulse
8 3MF Daiki Matsuoka (2001-06-01) 1 June 2001 Shimizu S-Pulse
10 3MF Yuta Goke (1999-06-10) 10 June 1999 Vissel Kobe
13 3MF Satoshi Tanaka (2002-08-13) 13 August 2002 Shonan Bellmare
14 3MF Joel Chima Fujita (2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 Tokushima Vortis
17 3MF Kuryu Matsuki (2003-04-30) 30 April 2003 Aomori Yamada High School
19 3MF Jiro Nakamura (2003-08-22) 22 August 2003 Gamba Osaka U-23
21 3MF Hidemasa Koda (2003-10-02) 2 October 2003 Nagoya Grampus U-18
9 4FW Mao Hosoya (2001-09-07) 7 September 2001 Kashiwa Reysol
11 4FW Kein Sato (2001-07-11) 11 July 2001 Meiji University
18 4FW Shota Fujio (2001-05-02) 2 May 2001 Mito HollyHock

(Players are listed within position group by order of seniority, kit number, caps, goals, and then alphabetically)

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to a under-23 squad in the past 12 months.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1GK Kosei Tani (2000-11-22) 22 November 2000 Shonan Bellmare
1GK Keisuke Osako (1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
1GK Zion Suzuki (2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 Urawa Red Diamonds
1GK Yuya Oki (1999-08-22) 22 August 1999 Kashima Antlers
2DF Reo Hatate (1997-11-21) 21 November 1997 Kawasaki Frontale
2DF Takehiro Tomiyasu (1998-11-05) 5 November 1998 Arsenal
2DF Daiki Hashioka (1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 Sint-Truidense
2DF Ayumu Seko (2000-06-07) 7 June 2000 Cerezo Osaka
2DF Teruki Hara (1998-07-30) 30 July 1998 Shimizu S-Pulse
2DF Tsuyoshi Watanabe (1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 FC Tokyo
2DF Taiyo Koga (1998-10-28) 28 October 1998 Kashiwa Reysol
2DF Yukinari Sugawara (2000-06-28) 28 June 2000 AZ
3MF Takefusa Kubo (2001-06-04) 4 June 2001 Mallorca
3MF Ritsu Dōan (1998-06-16) 16 June 1998 PSV Eindhoven
3MF Ao Tanaka (1998-09-10) 10 September 1998 Fortuna Dusseldorf
3MF Shunta Tanaka (1997-05-26) 26 May 1997 Consadole Sapporo
3MF Kota Watanabe (1998-10-18) 18 October 1998 Yokohama F. Marinos
3MF Keita Endo (1997-01-22) 22 January 1997 Union Berlin
4FW Ayase Ueda (1998-08-28) 28 August 1998 Kashima Antlers
4FW Daizen Maeda (1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 Yokohama F. Marinos
4FW Ryotaro Meshino (1998-06-18) 18 June 1998 Estoril
4FW Kyosuke Tagawa (1999-02-11) 11 February 1999 FC Tokyo

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

(Players are listed within position group by order of latest call-up, seniority, caps, goals, and then alphabetically)

Previous squads
Bold indicates winning squads
Olympic Games
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Asian Games

Records
As of 6 August 2021
Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.
Caps and goals is calculated by all national team level include U21, U22, and U23.

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

Olympic Games
Main article: Japan at the Olympics
See also: Football at the Summer Olympics
A match vs Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics at Glasgow in the United Kingdom
Summer Olympics record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1908–1988 See Japan national team
1992 Did Not Qualify
1996 Group Stage 9th 3 2 0 1 4 4
2000 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 6 5
2004 Group Stage 13th 3 1 0 2 6 7
2008 Group Stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 4
2012 Fourth Place 4th 6 3 1 2 6 5
2016 Group Stage 10th 3 1 1 1 7 7
2020 Fourth Place 4th 6 3 1 2 8 5
2024 To be Determined
2028
TotalFourth Place7/728124123838

Match history
Summer Olympics history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
1996 Group stage Brazil1–0Win
Group stage Nigeria0–2Loss
Group stage Hungary3–2Win
2000 Group stage South Africa2–1Win
Group stage Slovakia2–1Win
Group stage Brazil0–1Loss
Quarter-finals United States2–2Draw
2004 Group stage Paraguay3–4Loss
Group stage Italy2–3Loss
Group stage Ghana1–0Win
2008 Group stage United States0–1Loss
Group stage Nigeria1–2Loss
Group stage Netherlands0–1Loss
2012 Group stage Spain1–0Win
Group stage Morocco1–0Win
Group stage Honduras0–0Draw
Quarter-finals Egypt3–0Win
Semi-finals Mexico1–3Loss
Bronze Play-off South Korea0–2Loss
2016 Group stage Nigeria4–5Loss
Group stage Colombia2–2Draw
Group stage Sweden1–0Win
2020 Group stage South Africa1–0Win
Group stage Mexico2–1Win
Group stage France4–0Win
Quarter-finals New Zealand0–0 4–2Draw Win
Semi-finals Spain0–1Loss
Bronze Play-off Mexico1–3Loss

AFC U-23 Asian Cup
See also: AFC U-23 Asian Cup
AFC U-23 Asian Cup record Qualifier record
Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA GP W D L GS GA
2013Quarter-finals7412185 5500202
2016Champions16600154 3300100
2018Quarter-finals5430155 3300112
2020Group Stage15301235 3300210
2022 Qualified 220080
Total5/5Champions1710343119 161600704

Match history
AFC U-23 Asian Cup history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
2013 Group Stage Iran3–3Draw
Group Stage Kuwait0–0Draw
Group Stage Australia4–0Win
Quarter-finals Iraq0–1Loss
2016 Group Stage North Korea1–0Win
Group Stage Thailand4–0Win
Group Stage Saudi Arabia2–1Win
Quarter-finals Iran3–0Win
Semi-finals Iraq2–1Win
Final South Korea3–2Win
2018 Group Stage Palestine1–0Win
Group Stage Thailand1–0Win
Group Stage North Korea3–1Win
Quarter-finals Uzbekistan0–4Loss
2020 Group Stage Saudi Arabia1–2Loss
Group Stage Syria1–2Loss
Group Stage Qatar1–1Draw

Asian Games
Main article: Japan at the Asian Games
See also: Football at the Asian Games
Asian Games record
Hosts / Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA
2002 Silver26501134
2006Round 111320154
2010 Gold17700171
2014Quarter-finals65302105
2018 Silver27502104
2022To be Determined
2026
Total5/5 Gold2822065518

Match history
Asian Games history
Year Round Opponent Score Result
2002 Round 1 Palestine2–0Win
Round 1 Bahrain5–2Win
Round 1 Uzbekistan1–0Win
Quarter-finals China PR1–0Win
Semi-finals Thailand3–0Win
Final Iran1–2Loss
2006 Round 1 Pakistan3–2Win
Round 1 Syria1–0Win
Round 1 North Korea1–2Loss
2010 Round 1 China PR3–0Win
Round 1 Malaysia2–0Win
Round 1 Kyrgyzstan3–0Win
Round 2 India5–0Win
Quarter-finals Thailand1–0Win
Semi-finals Iran2–1Win
Final UAE1–0Win
2014 Round 1 Kuwait4–1Win
Round 1 Iraq1–3Loss
Round 1   Nepal4–0Win
Round 2 Palestine4–0Win
Quarter-finals South Korea0–1Loss
2018 Round 1   Nepal1–0Win
Round 1 Pakistan4–0Win
Round 1 Vietnam0–1Loss
Round 2 Malaysia1–0Win
Quarter-finals Saudi Arabia2–1Win
Semi-finals UAE1–0Win
Final South Korea1–2Loss

See also
  •  Asia portal
  •  Japan portal
  •  Sports portal
  •  Association football portal
  •  Women's association football portal
National teams
Men's
Women's

References
  1. Hyung-Jin Yoon (6 May 2006). "Japan - International Results U-23 (Olympic) Team [Malaysia (1) – Japan (1)]". RDFC. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. "TV放送". www.jfa.jp (in Japanese). Japan Football Association (JFA). July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. https://www.jfa.jp/national_team/tokyo_olympic_2020/img/all_02s.pdf
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