Japan is the team we're most looking forward to watching.

A team that has won all their recent encounters against Spain, France, England, Brazil, Germany, and Argentina must automatically be a World Cup contender? That's up to you, but here's the truth: Japan is the only team in the world to have achieved that.

Báo Thanh niên•03/06/2026

Complete victory against every "giant"

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Japan played 16 matches, scoring 54 goals and conceding only 3. While the opponents in the qualifiers and the World Cup finals are different, the "aggregate score" of 54-3 is still astonishing. Let's look at the stronger opponents. In their most recent encounters, Japan defeated all five of the strongest contenders for the 2026 World Cup: Spain, France, England, Brazil, and Argentina. No other team in the world has achieved this. Japan has never faced Portugal (the 6th strongest contender). Against Germany (the 7th strongest contender), Japan won both of their most recent matches. Against the Netherlands (the 8th strongest contender), Japan "only" drew in their most recent encounter. In their last six matches, Japan won all of them and kept a clean sheet in five games. In the only game where they conceded a goal, they beat Brazil 3-2! When they faced England at the "sacred" Wembley Stadium with 79,000 spectators, Japan won 1-0.

Nhật Bản là đội đáng chờ xem nhất- Ảnh 1. — The Japanese national team has remained unchanged in terms of personnel between the two World Cups.

To go far, you must dare to attack.

It's somewhat strange that despite Japan's victories over Spain and Germany, securing top spot in their group at the 2022 World Cup, coach Moriyasu still faced criticism from domestic fans. In both resounding wins, Japan trailed and only managed comeback victories when pushed to the brink. Against the weaker opponent Costa Rica, Japan played very cautiously and lost 0-1 after conceding a late goal. In the first knockout round, Japan took the lead but allowed Croatia to equalize on penalties before being eliminated in the penalty shootout. In conclusion: Coach Moriyasu's overly cautious approach prevented Japan from reaching its full potential.

It hasn't changed much until now. Coach Moriyasu prefers a five-man defense, including three center-backs. The question is: after consecutively defeating the strongest opponents, will Japan "dare" to attack more, confidently playing to win in big matches at the World Cup? Coach Moriyasu's preferred formation is unusual: 3-2-4-1, with a pair of defensive midfielders in front of the three center-backs and a pair of "number 10" midfielders between the two wing-backs. Because the wing-backs are attack-oriented, when in possession, Japan has up to five players ready to participate in the attack, not to mention the defensive midfielders also pushing forward if needed, resulting in a seven-man attacking machine. Conversely, if the wing-backs operate deep, Japan has up to seven players defending.

On the one hand, it's a very good formation, but of course it's a "dead" formation. How it's implemented is what matters. On the other hand, will Japan primarily use 7 attacking players, or will they be cautious with 7 players who are usually defensive? Of course, it depends on the specific circumstances. As mentioned: Japan came from behind to beat Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup when they were pushed into a corner. But when they played it smart, Japan lost to Costa Rica.