Ever since the introduction of a profe sional football league in Japan, the countrys fortunes in qualifying for major tournaments has improved dramatically. Japan had never qualified for theWorld Cupbefore 1998. However, since then then they have participated in the last four World Cups including their own co-hosted tournament in 2002 where they qualified for the knock out stages for the only time in their history.As one of the largest Asian nations, Japan received a bye from the first two qualification rounds which pitted the minnows against eachother. They were introduced into the competition
Tyler Myers Men Jersey in the third round where they were placed in a simple looking four team group alongside Bahrain, Thailand and Oman. With the top two qualifying after playing each team twice, Japans path to the final qualification stage looked simple.The Nippon got their campaign off to a great start
Markus Granlund Jersey with a 4-1 home victory over Thailand. However, a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Bahrain prevented them from easing away to the top of the group. A comfortable 3-0 victory at home to Oman saw them back on track although a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture ensured thatqualification was not
Josh Leivo Men Jersey a certainty.However, afurther 3-0 victory away to Thailand meant that Japan would be one of the ten teams progre sing through to the final qualification round. A last minute 1-0 victory over Bahrain secured top spot for the 2002 hosts.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsJapan6411123+913Bahrain632175+211Oman62225728Thailand601551491The final qualification round saw Japan pitted in a five team group alongside Australia, Qatar, Bahrain and Uzbekistan. Thedraw was certainly favourable as rivals South Korea and tricky opponents Iran and Saudi Arabia were placed in the other group.
With only the top two teams from each group qualifying automatically, the pre sure was on for no slip ups. The first match saw Japan travel to Bahrain where they suffered their only defeat in the third round. A fantastic performance saw them 3-0 up after 85 minutes. Neverthele s, a goal in the 87th and 88th minute gave the Japanese a very nervy ending before they managed to hold out for a 3-2 victory.The first slip up came in the very next game as Uzbekistan managed to hold the Nippon to a disappointing 1-1 home draw. However, a
Canucks Blank Jersey 3-0 victory away to Qatar saw them back on track. An impre sive performance at home to Australia resulted in a 0-0 draw before another victory, this time 1-0, against Bahrain. With qualification almost a sured, the team embarked on a tricky trip to Uzbekistan. A single goal from Shinji Okazaki saw Japan run out 1-0 winners and confirm their place at South Africa 2010. The final two matches saw the team draw 1-1 at home to Qatar before suffering a 2-1 away in Australia to leave
Jay Beagle Women Jersey them 2nd at the conclusion of the group.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsAustralia8620121+1120Japan8431116+515Bahrain831468210Qatar813451496Uzbekistan811651054
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