Go to:  Asian Football AFC Afghanistan football Australia football Bahrain football Bangladesh football Bhutan football Brunei Football Cambodia football China football Guam football Hong Kong football India football Indonesia football Iran football Iraq football Japan football Jordan football Kuwait football Kyrgyzstan football Laos football Lebanon football Macau football Malaysia football Maldives football Mongolia football Myanmar Football Nepal football North Korea football Oman Football Pakistan football Palestine football Philippines football Qatar football Saudi Arabia football Singapore football South Korea football Sri Lanka football Syria football Taiwan football Tajikistan football Thailand footbal Timor-Leste Football Turkmenistan football United Arab Emirates football Uzbekistan football Vietnam football Yemen football

Japan

National Coach: Takeshi Okada National Stadium: FA founded: 1921 ( FA Website ) Joined FIFA: 1929 FIFA Code: JPN Nickname: Blue Samurai						Local Name: Nippon Capital: Tokyo Population: 127,288,416 Area: 377,835 km2 Tel: +81 / Internet: .jp Currency: Yen (JPY) - Rates
Domestic Season: March - December
Local Time and Weather						Latest Japanese Football News

---

Japanese Football League System

Level: 1 J. League Division 1 view 18 Teams
Level: 2 J. League Division 2 view 18 Teams
Level: 3 Japan Football League

---

J. League Division 1

---

J. League Division 2

---

Japan Football League

---

Roll of Honour

---

Other links

J.League – Official Site

:: Japan football news ::

Click here for all news stories on football in Japan.

Go to:  Asian Football AFC Afghanistan football Australia football Bahrain football Bangladesh football Bhutan football Brunei Football Cambodia football China football Guam football Hong Kong football India football Indonesia football Iran football Iraq football Japan football Jordan football Kuwait football Kyrgyzstan football Laos football Lebanon football Macau football Malaysia football Maldives football Mongolia football Myanmar Football Nepal football North Korea football Oman Football Pakistan football Palestine football Philippines football Qatar football Saudi Arabia football Singapore football South Korea football Sri Lanka football Syria football Taiwan football Tajikistan football Thailand footbal Timor-Leste Football Turkmenistan football United Arab Emirates football Uzbekistan football Vietnam football Yemen football

Ivory Coast beat Japan 2-0 in their final official warm up match for the World Cup. However, the main headline from the game played in Sion, Switzerland, was that Ivory Coast start striker and talisman Didier Drogba picked up an injury that may rule him out of the finals.

The Chelsea striker’s importance was underlined early on when his free-kick opened the scoring, albeit with a telling deflection off the unfortunate Japanese defender Tulio Tanaka, who also scored on own goal against England.

Drogba subsequently fractured his arm in a clash with Tulio, which put a major question mark over his participation in the finals. However, he has already had surgery and it is reported to have gone well so there is still hope that he will play some part for Sven Goran Eriksson’s men.

The second and clinching goal came around ten minutes from full time when Manchester City defender Kolo Toure volleyed home to send the Elephants off to South Africa with a morale boosting victory. Japan, on the other hand, are in disarray having lost four games in a row. This was to have been their last warm up match, but following the defeat they will now play Mozambique in a last ditch effort to get a win under their belt before the finals kick off.

Ivory Coast 2-0 Japan (04/06/2010)

Starting Line-Ups:

Ivory Coast:
Barry
Demel
K. Toure
Eboue
Tiene
Y. Toure
Zokora
Cheik Tiote
Drogba
Kalou
Dindane

Substitutions:
18 Doumbia for Drogba
66 Keita for Doumbia
88 Kone for Tiote

Japan:
Kawashima
Nakazawa
Tulio
Konno
Nagatomo
Endo
Abe
Hasebe
Honda
Okubo
Okazaki

Substitutions:
46 Inamoto for Abe
46 Nakamura for Honda
46 Nakamura for Endo
66 Morimoto for Okubo
66 Tamada for Okazaki
67 Komano for Konno

Goals:
Tulio (12 O.G.)
K. Toure (80)

Go to:  Asian Football AFC Afghanistan football Australia football Bahrain football Bangladesh football Bhutan football Brunei Football Cambodia football China football Guam football Hong Kong football India football Indonesia football Iran football Iraq football Japan football Jordan football Kuwait football Kyrgyzstan football Laos football Lebanon football Macau football Malaysia football Maldives football Mongolia football Myanmar Football Nepal football North Korea football Oman Football Pakistan football Palestine football Philippines football Qatar football Saudi Arabia football Singapore football South Korea football Sri Lanka football Syria football Taiwan football Tajikistan football Thailand footbal Timor-Leste Football Turkmenistan football United Arab Emirates football Uzbekistan football Vietnam football Yemen football

England met fellow World Cup contestants Japan in a World Cup warm up match in Graz, Austria, with several England players hoping to impress coach Fabio Capello enough to keep their places in the squad ahead of him reducing the numbers from 30 down to 23 on Tuesday this week. What is expected to be the first choice back five began the match, but the midfield was experimental, with Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone earning his first start, alongside Frank Lampard, and Aaron Lennon starting on the left, opposite Theo Walcott. Sunderland’s Darren Bent had a chance to shine alongside Wayne Rooney up front.

The plan didn’t seem to work that well in the first half, and Japan took the lead in the 7th minute, when Tulio Tanaka got ahead of Glen Johnson to fire home from a corner on the right. It was a disjointed performance from England in the first 45 minutes and Japan looked the more better organised outfit and more likely to get the second goal, although Lennon did produce a good save from Kawashima when played through by Rooney.

Capello made five changes at the start of the second period and England did improve as a result, pushing forward and creating more chances. The big chance to equalise came after 55 minutes when England won a free-kick to the left of the Japanese goal. Lampard struck it goalwards but it was handled by Honda in the Japanese wall leaving the referee no option but to award a penalty, which Lampard himself hit firmly towards the bottom left corner only for it to be expertly saved by Kawashima.

However, England’s heads didn’t drop and they continued to create chances until substitute Joe Cole finally managed to force a telling error in the Japanese defence, his cross from the right being inexplicably headed past his own goalkeeper by Tulio Tanaka to equalise his own opening goal in the 72nd minute. Lightening struck twice ten minutes later when more England pressure caused Nakazawa to slice the ball into the far corner of his own net and complete the turn around.

The result continues Japan’s worrying run of form ahead of the World Cup finals. They were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by South Korea on the 24th of May and they now only have one more game against Ivory Coast onthe 4th of June to complete their preparations. England maintained their 100% record in the warm up matches following the 3-1 win over Mexico last Monday.

England 2-1 Japan (30/05/2010)

Starting Line-ups:

England:
James
G. Johnson
Ferdinand
Terry
A. Cole
Walcott
Huddlestone
Lampard
Lennon
Rooney
Bent

Substitutions:
46 Hart for James
46 Carragher for Johnson
46 J. Cole for Walcott
46 Wright-Phillips Huddlestone
46 Gerrard for Bent
76 Heskey for Lennon

Japan:
Kawashima
Tulio Tanaka
Nakazawa
Nagatomo
Konno
Endo
Hasebe
Abe
Honda
Okubu
Okazaki

Substitutions:
65 Morimoto for Okazaki
72 Matsui for Okubu
86 Tamada for Endo

Goals:
Tulio Tanaka (7)
Tulio Tanaka O.G. (72)
Nakazawa O.G. (82)