Japan National Football Team - Editorial Coverage
Japan will participate in their seventh ever FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar in November 2022. The Samurai Blue have qualified for every tournament since France 1998. Afloimages is the official photo agency of the Japan Football Association and we have lots of exclusive behind the scenes content. From legends like "King Kazu", Kazuyoshi Miura, and Hidetoshi Nakata, to stars of the future, you won't find a more comprehensive collection of Japanese football images.
Afloimages handles the official photos of the Japan Football Association (JFA). We have partnered with the JFA since 2017 and our archive includes images of the Japan national soccer teams at all age groups; including the "Samurai Blue" (men's A team) and Nadeshiko Japan (women's team). The JFA collection includes past FIFA World Cup finals and qualifiers, official games such as the AFC Asian Cup, and friendly matches such as the Kirin Challenge Cup. The collection, which is not available anywhere else, includes player portraits, locker room shots, studio images, press conferences, practices, and training camps.
Japan almost qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup only to lose out after conceding a goal in the 91st minute of their final qualifying game to Iraq. Going into the last game of qualifying Japan topped their group of 6 nations with two spots available for the USA World Cup. The Samurai Blue would have qualified with a win versus Iraq and they were leading 2-1 in the final minutes of their game held in Doha, Qatar. When Iraq equalised, and Saudi Arabia and South Korea also won their games, the Japanese players realised that they had missed out on a first appearance at the world's biggest tournament. The game became known as the "Agony of Doha" and remains infamous in the history of football in Japan.
The Samurai Blue initially made hard work of their third round AFC qualifying group for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, losing at home to Oman and away to Saudi Arabia in two of their first three games. Nevertheless, Japan booked their trip to Qatar with victories over rivals Saudi Arabia at home and away versus Australia, the latter through two late goals scored by Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma.
From the origin of football/soccer in Japan, to the launch of the J.League, hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament in Japan and Korea, and the development of women's soccer (via victory in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup), Afloimages has everything you could need for your story on the beautiful game in the land of the rising sun. All of our content can be licensed for editorial use.
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Eiji KAWASHIMA
Takumi MINAMINO
Ao TANAKA
Ayase UEDA
Ritsu DOAN
Hidemasa MORITA
Yuki SOMA
Takuma ASANO
Gaku SHIBASAKI
Hiroki SAKAI
Hiroki ITO
Shuto MACHINO
Kou ITAKURA
Miki YAMANE
Shogo TANIGUCHI
Yuto NAGATOMO
Daniel SCHMIDT
Shuichi GONDA
Team Group
Coach - Hajime MORIYASU
Officials - Yoshimi YAMASHITA
With our own in-depth coverage of the Japan National football/soccer team and our partnership with the JFA, we have put together a gallery of the players and the staff selected to represent Japan at the World Cup in Qatar. We have portraits, head shots, action shots in the latest home and away uniforms. Images can be licensed for editorial use individually or you can contact us about licensing a set to introduce the Japan team. We also have images of referee Yoshimi Yamashita in action. She will be one of first three female referees to officiate at the World Cup Finals. Whether you want to feature the attacking talents of Takefusa Kubo or the defensive solidity of Takehiro Tomiyasu, you can find it all here on Afloimages.
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Afloimages also provides editorial coverage of the Japanese domestic soccer league, the J.League. You can find images of the start of the J.League in 1992 and modern day coverage from J1, J2 and J3. We have pictures of international stars and coaches who have participated in the J.League including Arsene Wenger, Dragan Stojković, Ange Postecoglou, Gary Lineker, Pierre Littebarski, Dunga, Zico, Andres Iniesta, Diego Forlan, Hulk, Mboma, Park Ji Sung, Lukas Podolski, Fernando Torres and more.
As well as editorial images, Afloimages have a large collection of model released sports images and videos pre-cleared for commercial use. Whether you are looking for content to illustrate your news story or visuals that you can include in your next banner promotion, Afloimages is the place to visit. We provide free offline research assistance for detailed requests concerning soccer in Japan.
All of our images are available for editorial use and we provide free offline research assistance for more in-depth requests concerning soccer in Japan.