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GROUP E: JAPAN (FIFA FUTSAL WORLD CUP)

The FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania will be the fifth Futsal World Cup for the Japanese national futsal team. As one of the best Asian futsal nations, it was a shock when they failed to qualify for the last championship held in Colombia. But Japan is back now and will look to improve on their best result so far which was Round of 16 in Thailand.

>>> FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 - PROFILE

Nickname: Samurai Five
Association: Japan Football Association (JFA)

Confederation: AFC (Asia)

FIFA code: JPN

FIFA ranking: 14

First international match: Belgium – Japan 3:0 (6 January 1989)

Biggest international win: Japan – Guam 18:0 (24 May 2005)

Biggest international defeat: Spain – Japan 16:0 (29 March 2005)

World Cup Appearances: 5 (1989, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2021)

World Cup Best result: Round of 16 (2012)

Road to Lithuania: Due to Covid-19, Asian qualifiers for the World Cup were played in a different format. Japan qualified automatically as the second best ranked team in Asia.

Coach: Bruno García Formoso
Star Player: Rafael Henmi