WFI‘s Adam Brandon counts down to Russia 2018 with 90 World Cup goals in 90 days, scored in the minute corresponding to the day in the countdown.
Context
It wasn’t until the 1998 World Cup that Japan played their first match in the finals. Japanese football had been hindered for many years by the lack of a professional league.
In 1993 the J.League was launched, and it improved the fortunes of the national team almost instantly. However, the team just missed on qualification for USA ’94.
In 1996 it was announced that Japan would co-host the 2002 World Cup alongside their great rival South Korea. It was therefore important for the Japanese to gain some World Cup experience, something their Korean neighbours certainly weren’t lacking.
They finished six points behind South Korea in qualification for France ’98 and had to play-off in Malaysia against Iran to qualify for the finals.
Japan came from 2-1 behind to win 3-2 with a golden goal in the 118th minute, a win that sparked wild celebrations throughout Japan where the sport was growing fast.
The 1998 campaign in France didn’t go as well as they hoped, they lost all three matches but all were by a narrow margin. The lack of goals was the biggest worry as they suffered 1-0 defeats to Argentina and Croatia and were disappointing in a 2-1 defeat to Jamaica.
Under French head coach Philippe Troussier, Japan looked in good form as the World Cup edged near. They won the Asian Cup in 2000 and followed it up with an impressive performance in the Confederations Cup where they finished as runners-up to World and European champions France.
Stars of the side included Hidetoshi Nakata, who played his football in Italy, Shinji Ojo of Feyenoord (UEFA Cup 2002 winners) and Junichi Inamoto who joined Arsenal in 2001, yet was released by them just before the World Cup.
Japan started the World Cup with an entertaining draw against Belgium. It was a result and performance they looked to build on.
Russia, their next opponents, had beaten Tunisia in their opening game. Japan’s fanatic and loud support combined with their frenetic attacking play proved a potent mix and the Russians struggled to deal with it.
The Goal
Inamoto grabs his second goal of the World Cup to put Japan 1-0 up…
What Happened Next?
Japan beat Tunisia and won the group but they fell behind to Turkey after just twelve minutes in their second round match. And despite dominating the game, they couldn’t find an equaliser.
They reached the second round of the 2010 edition and were unfortunate to lose on penalties to Paraguay. Their two World Cup appearances either side of that were poor.
Japan will play in their sixth World Cup in a row this year.
Inamoto is still playing in Japan at the ripe old age of 38. After his release from Arsenal in 2002, he went onto play for Fulham and West Brom in the Premier League, before spells in France, Germany, and Turkey.
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