General

• The Japan national football team
  Japan national football team
  The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
  
   competed in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup
  2007 AFC Asian Cup
  The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...
  
   and won the 2007 Kirin Cup
  Kirin Cup
  The Kirin Cup is an annual association football tournament sponsored in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 as an international club competition. From 1992 onwards the format was changed to a round robin national...
  
   in amongst other friendly matches played.

Schedule

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	Japan scorers	Match Report
March 24	International Stadium, Yokohama Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...  (H)	Peru Peru national football team The Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...	2-0	Friendly	Maki Seiichiro Maki is a Japanese professional football player. He is a forward and currently plays for Tokyo Verdy, and has been a member of the Japanese national football team since 2005.-Personal life:...  18' Takahara Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for J. League Division 1 side Shimizu S-Pulse as a strikerTakahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka. He has previously played for Júbilo Iwata in Japan, Boca Juniors in Argentina, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.On December 3, 2006, he...  54'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070324/
June 1	Shizuoka Stadium Shizuoka Stadium is a sports stadium used primarily for football. The stadium is in Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, although the stadium itself is merely the centrepiece of the larger Ogasayama Sports Park which extends into neighbouring Kakegawa... , Fukuroi Fukuroi, Shizuoka is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2009, the city had an estimated population of 85,985 and a density of 792 persons per km². The total area is 108.56 km².-Geography:...  (H)	Montenegro Montenegro national football team The Montenegro national football team represents Montenegro in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro...	2-0	Kirin Cup Kirin Cup The Kirin Cup is an annual association football tournament sponsored in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 as an international club competition. From 1992 onwards the format was changed to a round robin national...	Nakazawa Yuji Nakazawa is a Japanese football player who currently plays for J. League side Yokohama F. Marinos. He is a centre back. He is captain of both Yokohama F. Marinos and the Japan national football team. His nickname is "Bomber" because of his distinctive hairstyle...  23' Takahara Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for J. League Division 1 side Shimizu S-Pulse as a strikerTakahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka. He has previously played for Júbilo Iwata in Japan, Boca Juniors in Argentina, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.On December 3, 2006, he...  38'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070601/
June 5	Saitama Stadium, Saitama Saitama, Saitama ' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...  (H)	Colombia Colombia national football team The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...	0-0	Kirin Cup Kirin Cup The Kirin Cup is an annual association football tournament sponsored in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 as an international club competition. From 1992 onwards the format was changed to a round robin national...		http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070605/
July 9	My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium is a stadium in My Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam, has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex... , Hanoi Hanoi Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...  (N)	Qatar Qatar national football team The Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...	1-1	2007 Asian Cup Group Stage 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...	Takahara Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for J. League Division 1 side Shimizu S-Pulse as a strikerTakahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka. He has previously played for Júbilo Iwata in Japan, Boca Juniors in Argentina, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.On December 3, 2006, he...  61'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070709/
July 13	My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium is a stadium in My Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam, has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex... , Hanoi Hanoi Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...  (N)	UAE	3-1	2007 Asian Cup Group Stage 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...	Takahara Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for J. League Division 1 side Shimizu S-Pulse as a strikerTakahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka. He has previously played for Júbilo Iwata in Japan, Boca Juniors in Argentina, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.On December 3, 2006, he...  22', 27' Nakamura Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos in J. League Division 1. He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Scotland and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League and the second Asian...  42'pen Penalty kick A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070713/
July 16	My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium is a stadium in My Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam, has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex... , Hanoi Hanoi Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...  (A)	Vietnam Vietnam national football team The Vietnam national football team is the national football team representing Vietnam and is managed by the Vietnam Football Federation.In the FIFA World Rankings, Vietnam's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in September 1998, at 84th...	4-1	2007 Asian Cup Group Stage 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...	Maki Seiichiro Maki is a Japanese professional football player. He is a forward and currently plays for Tokyo Verdy, and has been a member of the Japanese national football team since 2005.-Personal life:...  12', 59' Endo Yasuhito Endo is a Japanese footballer, who currently plays for the J. League team Gamba Osaka. His older brother Akihiro, who retired in 2008, was also a professional footballer.-Career:...  32' Nakamura Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos in J. League Division 1. He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Scotland and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League and the second Asian...  53'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070716/
July 21	My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium is a stadium in My Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam, has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex... , Hanoi Hanoi Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...  (N)	Australia	1-1 Pen (4-3)	2007 Asian Cup Quarter-final 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...	Takahara Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for J. League Division 1 side Shimizu S-Pulse as a strikerTakahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka. He has previously played for Júbilo Iwata in Japan, Boca Juniors in Argentina, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.On December 3, 2006, he...  72'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070716/
July 25	My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium My Dinh National Stadium is a stadium in My Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam, has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex... , Hanoi Hanoi Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...  (N)	Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia national football team Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...	2-3	2007 Asian Cup Semi-final 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...	Nakazawa Yuji Nakazawa is a Japanese football player who currently plays for J. League side Yokohama F. Marinos. He is a centre back. He is captain of both Yokohama F. Marinos and the Japan national football team. His nickname is "Bomber" because of his distinctive hairstyle...  37' Abe Yuki Abe is a Japanese footballer who plays for Leicester City and the Japanese national team as a midfielder.-JEF United Ichihara:Born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Abe, then a member of the JEF United Ichihara youth side, made his debut with the senior club at the age of 16 years and 333 days on 5 August 1998, at...  53'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070725/
July 28	Jakabaring Stadium Jakabaring Stadium Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium also known as Jakabaring Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 40,000 spectators. The construction begin in 2001 and finished in 2004 to host the Palembang 2004... , Palembang Palembang Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...  (N)	Korea Republic Korea Republic national football team The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,...	0-0 Pen (6-5)	2007 Asian Cup Third place play-off 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...		http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070728/
August 22	Ōita Stadium Oita Stadium Ōita Bank Dome is a multi-purpose stadium in the city of Ōita in Ōita Prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan.The stadium is currently called , or as an abbreviated form, by naming rights. It was formerly called as sponsored by the Kyushu Oil until early 2010. It is primarily used for soccer, and is... , Ōita Oita, Oita is the capital city of Ōita Prefecture located on the island of Kyushu, Japan.- Demographics and geography :Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture...  (H)	Cameroon Cameroon national football team The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...	2-0	Friendly	Tulio Marcus Tulio Tanaka , formerly name ; Marcus Túlio Lyuji Murzani Tanaka is a Brazilian-born Japanese footballer who plays for the J. League Division 1 club Nagoya Grampus.-Career:...  25' Yamase Koji Yamase is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Kawasaki Frontale in J-League.Japan's coach Ivica Osim handed him his first senior cap on August 9, 2006, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago. His first goal for Japan came on August 22, 2007 in a friendly match against Cameroon...  89'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070822/
September 7	Wörthersee Stadion Wörthersee Stadion Hypo-Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria. It is the home ground of SK Austria Kärnten.-Overview:The old stadium, known as the Wörtherseestadion, was built in 1960 and had a capacity of 10,900... , Klagenfurt Klagenfurt -Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...  (A)	Austria Austria national football team The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....	0-0 Pen (3-4)	Friendly		http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070907/
September 11	Wörthersee Stadion Wörthersee Stadion Hypo-Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria. It is the home ground of SK Austria Kärnten.-Overview:The old stadium, known as the Wörtherseestadion, was built in 1960 and had a capacity of 10,900... , Klagenfurt Klagenfurt -Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...  (N)	Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...	4-3	Friendly	Nakamura Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos in J. League Division 1. He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Scotland and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League and the second Asian...  53',78' Maki Seiichiro Maki is a Japanese professional football player. He is a forward and currently plays for Tokyo Verdy, and has been a member of the Japanese national football team since 2005.-Personal life:...  67' Yano Kisho Yano is a Japanese footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga side SC Freiburg.-Career:Yano was chosen as one of the Designated Players for Development by J. League and JFA in 2002 when he was a student of Hamana High School. Because of this status, Yano was able to register as a Júbilo Iwata...  90'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20070911/
October 17	Nagai Stadium Nagai Stadium is an athletic stadium in Osaka, Japan. It is the home ground of J. League club Cerezo Osaka. The stadium has a seating capacity of 50,000.-History:... , Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...  (H)	Egypt	4-1	Friendly	Okubo Yoshito Okubo is a Japanese football player, he is a forward and currently plays for Vissel Kobe.- Career :On January 3, 2009, Vissel announced his transfer to VfL Wolfsburg of the 1. Bundesliga...  21',42' Maeda Ryoichi Maeda is a Japanese football player who currently plays for Jubilo Iwata of the J. League Division 1.-Club career:Maeda was born in Kobe, Japan but spent his childhood in the United States. He was educated at and played for Gyosei Junior High and Ghosei High School in Tokyo. While he was a high school...  53' Kaji 68'	http://samuraiblue.jp/timeline/20071017/

• H = Home match
• A = Away match
• N = Neutral venue

Top goal scorers for 2007

Kits