Japan World Cup 2022 results, squad list, fixtures and latest odds

Three times Japan have progressed to the knockout stages at the World Cup, but all three times have ended in defeat.

At the last World Cup, Japan were 2-0 up against Belgium, only to concede three goals- the last occurring in stoppage time.

Fast forward to Qatar 2022, and there is more heartache for Hajime Moriyasu's men as they fell to Croatia after losing 3-1 to penalties.

They could not repeat the epic results against both Germany and Spain at the group stage in Qatar.

Celtic striker Daizen Maeda put Japan ahead before Ivan Perisi dragged the 2018 tournaments runners-up level.

However, a penalty shoot-out defeat sinked Japan's hopes and booked Croatia a place in the quarter- finals where they will face either Brazil or South Korea.

Japan World Cup 2022 squad

Goalkeepers: Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt, Eiji Kawashima

Defenders: Miki Yamane, Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ko Itakura, Shogo Taniguchi, Hiroki Ito, Yuto Nagatomo, Yura Nakayama

Midfielders: Wataru Endo, Hidemasa Morita, Ao Tanaka, Gaku Shibasaki, Kaoru Mitoma, Daichi Kamada, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Takefusa Kubo, Yuki Soma

Forwards: Daizen Maeda, Takuma Asano, Ayase Ueda

Who is their best player?

Going into the the tournament, Brighton newcomer Kaoru Mitoma had been dazzling for both his country, and his new club.

Former Brighton manager Graham Potter spoke about Mitoma after the winger made his debut as a substitute, claiming that he was "going to cause full-backs a problem".

"He has got that ability to go by people that is quite unique," Potter added.

In their 2-1 win against Germany it was goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda who took the official player of the match accolade, but Telegraph readers voted winning goalscorer Takuma Asano as their top performer.

What are Japan's fixtures

Group E

November 23: Germany 1 Japan 2

November 27: Japan 0 Costa Rica 1

December 1: Japan 2 Spain 1

What is Japan's World Cup record?

Japan have appeared at every World Cup since 1998, and have progressed to the round 16 in 2002 – during the tournament they jointly hosted with South Korea – 2010, and 2018. 2018's iteration saw them exit the tournament after a particularly lively match against Belgium, who ended up finishing third in Russia.

In 2019, Japan competed in both the AFC Asian Cup, where they reached the final, losing to Qatar, and the Copa America, which they were invited to participate in for the second time.

Japan qualified for the 2022 World Cup by coming second in Group B of the AFC qualification tournament.

However, at Qatar 2022 they ended up exiting tournament against 2018 runners-up Croatia in the last 16 losing 3-1 on penalties.

Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon | Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | Ecuador | England | France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Uruguay | USA | Wales

Latest odds

Fancy Japan to make it into the quarter-finals? See all the latest odds

Japan are currently a best price of 89/1 to win the World Cup.