Japan's 2-1 victory against Germany on Wednesday is one of the biggest moments in the history of the World Cup. It was a come-from-behind victory for the Samurai Blues. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu was hailed for a series of substitutions, as the Asians scored two goals in a gap of eight minutes in the second half after German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan's 33rd-minute goal.
Though this is Japan's seventh edition in a row at the showpiece event, they haven't had such a momentous feat where they outperformed four-time world champions. The Japanese made it to the World Cup first time in 1998, but had a forgettable outing as they returned home after the group stage exit.
Since then, they have never missed qualifying for the quadrennial event. Here is a sneak peek into Japan's journey at the FIFA World Cup.
World Cup 1998
Drawn into a tough group with contest heavyweights Argentina and Croatia, Japan had a forgettable first outing, though qualifying for their first World Cup was an achievement in itself. They lost all three group matches starting with Jamaica, then with Croatia and against South American heavyweights Argentina. They finished last in the group. Takeshi Okada's men, however, did not stop there and gave their best to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.
World Cup 2002
The 2002 World Cup, which was held in Japan and South Korea, gave an opportunity for the Samurai Blues to qualify automatically as the host nation. Playing at home, they raised hopes after playing out a 2-2 draw against a sturdy Belgium. They cruised past through the group stage after outperforming Russia and Tunisia, and entered the Round of 16. In the knockout round, Japan had to exit after their defeat against Turkey 0-1.
World Cup 2006
Japan travelled to Germany in 2006 for the marquee event with a mix of experience and young in its team. But Australia and Brazil got better of Japan's shortcomings in the group stage. However, the legendary Zico's men held Croatia in a goalless match. Once again, they finished last in the group stage with no wins.
World Cup 2010
Japan made it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Drawn in with Denmark, the Netherlands and Cameroon in Group E, Japan defeated Cameroon in the first group match but lost to The Netherlands in the second. However, after mauling Denmark 3-1, the Blue Samurais finished second in the group stage to move ahead to the Round of 16. In the knockout match against Paraguay, they went down fighting with a 3-5 scoreline in the penalty shootout after playing out a 0-0.
World Cup 2014
Japan had to exit the 2014 edition in Brazil after the group stage as they failed to register a single win, losing to Colombia and Ivory Coast. They earned a lone point after holding Greece to a 0-0.
World Cup 2018
In the last edition held in Russia, Japan finished among the top 16 teams as they finished second in the group stage and proceeded to the knockout stage. Japan's most challenging outing was in the 2018 World Cup when they had to face juggernauts Columbia, Senegal and Poland. They pulled off a shocker by defeating Columbia and played a draw against Senegal. They faced European heavyweights Belgium in the Round of 16. In a high-octane match, Belgium registered a last-gasp win with an injury-time goal.