Japan was the first non-host nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cut, securing their spot on 20th March 2025, with three games to spare in the AFC third round.
They topped a tough Group C that included Australia and Saudi Arabia, claiming their eighth consecutive appearance in the tournament.
In four of the last five World Cups the Samurai Blue reached the Round of 16.
They lost 1-0 to Turkey on home soil in 2002, to Paraguay in a penalty shoot-out in 2010 in South Africa, 3-2 to Belgium in Russia in 2018, and finally to Croatia in Qatar in 2022 in another dramatic penalty shoot-out.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu is in charge since 2018.
Japan was drawn into Group F alongside the Netherlands, Sweden, and Tunisia.
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