In the decade of 1950, the debut of Japan National Football team after the war took place in the first edition of Asian Games in 1951.

In this competition organized in India, the football tournament consisted of six Asian teams: Afghanistan, Burma, India, Indonesia, Iran and Japan.

The games lasted only 60 minutes and, for example, in the semi-final between Iran and Japan, as the game was 0-0 after overtime, they re-played the game the next day. In the replay match, Japan was defeated 3-2 by Iran.

In 1954, Japan joined the Asian Football Confederation and achieved its biggest victory against the Philippines, a 15-0.

Then the Japanese team played in the qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup and here began the intense rivalry with South Korea.

In fact, South Korea qualified after two games: a draw in the first and a win in the second.

The first major appearance on the world stage for Japan will be at the 1964 Olympics and the first success at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where they won the bronze medal.

In the last 20 years, Japan's national team has grown a lot: they have qualified five times for the World Cup and reached the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup in Korea.

For the occasion of 2016 World Cup Retrofootball® launches the Japan retro shirt of the 50s, Blue with white polo collar and Japanese flag.

Japan Retro Shirt 1950s

Buy the Japan National Football Team retro shirt of the 50s