MarketJapan national under-23 football team
Company Profile

Japan national under-23 football team

The Japan national under-23 football team is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, and the U-20 team, made up of university students and domestic league players, won the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup for the second consecutive year. Since 1992, it was decided that teams targeting athletes under the age of 23 will participate in the Olympics. Therefore, the name changes to Japan national under-22 football team the year before the Olympics and Japan national under-21 football team two years prior. The exception to this was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed one year, so in 2021, the team was called the Japan national under-24 football team. At the 2024 Olympics, they advanced to the Knockout stage without three overage players and several key players.

Team image
Nicknames "サムライ・ブルー (Samurai Blue)" basically refers to the Japan national football team, but the under-23 football team are sometimes referred to as "Young" Samurai Blue. However, in reality, Samurai Blue is not often used. In the Olympic Games, the name Olympíc Japan "オリンピックジャパン (Orinpikku Japan)" is used to referred to U-23 national team. Rivalries South Korea Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea, even in youth set-ups. ==Results and fixtures==
Results and fixtures
;Legend 2025 U-22 U-23 • Fixtures & Results (2025) 2026 ==Head-to-head record==
Head-to-head record
, after the match against China. The following table shows Japan under-23 team's all-time international record. ==Coaching staff==
Coaching staff
• Players & Staffs (U21 & U22) (2025), JFA.jp ==Players==
Players
Current squad The following U-22 players were called up on 29 August 2025 for the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification matches, held on September. Recent call-ups The following players were called up to an U-23, U-22 or U-21 squad in the past 12 months. INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby TRP Training partner WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. (Players are listed within position group by order of latest call-up, seniority, caps, goals, and then alphabetically) --> Previous squads :Bold indicates winning squads ;Olympic Games • 1996 Summer Olympics Squad2000 Summer Olympics Squad2004 Summer Olympics Squad2008 Summer Olympics Squad2012 Summer Olympics Squad2016 Summer Olympics Squad2020 Summer Olympics Squad2024 Summer Olympics Squad ;AFC U-23 Asian Cup • 2013 AFC U-22 Championship Squad2016 AFC U-23 Championship Squad2018 AFC U-23 Championship Squad2020 AFC U-23 Championship Squad2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Squad2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Squad2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Squad ;Asian Games • 2002 Asian Games Squad2006 Asian Games Squad2010 Asian Games Squad2014 Asian Games Squad2018 Asian Games Squad2022 Asian Games Squad Overaged players in the Olympic Games ==Manager history==
Records
: :Players in bold are still active, at least at club level. :Caps and goals are calculated taking into account all national team levels, including U21, U22, and U23. Most capped players Top goalscorers ==Competitive record==
Competitive record
Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Fourth place   Olympic Games Match history at the 2012 Summer Olympics at Glasgow in the United Kingdom AFC U-23 Asian Cup Match history Asian Games Match history ==See also==
tickerdossier.comtickerdossier.substack.com