FIFA Ranking: 46 (Last Updated 05 Jun 2014)
History: Japan have qualified five times in a row for the World Cup finals. They first played at the 1998 WC and have qualified twice for the Round of 16 stage since then. Japan`s most famous win came in the 2010 WC in South Africa when they beat Denmark 3-1.
Qualifying report: The Samurai Blues finished as toppers in the Asian group qualification above Australia in Group B. They were the first team to qualify for the 2014 WC apart from Brazil (hosts). They had 17 points in their kitty and scored 16 goals in Asia`s final qualifying group stage.
Star Players: Keisuke Honda (scored 5 goals in the qualification round) plays for AC Milan (Italy) at club level. Honda has been emphatic in Japan`s good show in recent times. The attacking midfielder can play in different positions. He has scored 20 goals for Japan and has been sublime at club level too. Milan bought him from Russian club Zenit St Petersburg in January 2014.
Shinji Kagawa is an attacking midfielder who plays in "the hole" behind the strikers for Japan. Kagawa plays for English giants Manchester United (England). After not much of an impressive season early on, he has started to hit form in recent times. The former Borussia Dortmund play-maker is another high profile player beside Honda and the duo can be threatening in Brazil.
Top Scorer during WC Qualification 2014: Keisuke Honda (5)
Top scorer at the Cup: Keisuke Honda (2)
Most World Cup caps: Hidetoshi Nakata(10)
Team record at the Cup: M: 14, W: 4, D: 3, L: 7
Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni - He is Japan`s sixth foreign head coach. He has been a master in getting Japanese players through to European clubs and learn the game more profoundly. He led Italian giants AC Milan to Serie A title in 1999.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo)
Defenders: Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover), Gotoku Sakai (Stuttgart)
Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (Nuremberg), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards: Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nuremberg), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F Marinos), Yuya Osako (1860 Munich)
Group listing: Group C, along with Ivory Coast, Colombia and Greece.
Fixtures:
June 14: Ivory Coast v Japan, Recife
June 19: Japan v Greece, Natal,
June 24: Japan v Colombia, Cuiaba