Nadeshiko Japan Dreams of Matching 2011 Glory in FIFA Women’s World Cup
Sports World- English
- 日本語
- 简体字
- 繁體字
- Français
- Español
- العربية
- Русский
This year, 32 teams will participate in the ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Japan, ranked eleventh in the world, will face Spain (6), Costa Rica (36), and Zambia (77) in Group C, and hope to progress to the knockout tournament. Its first match will be against Zambia at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand, on July 22.
At the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Japan went up against two powerful former champions—Germany in the quarterfinals and Sweden in the semifinals - and defeated both. In the final against the United States, with just minutes left in the second half of extra time, Japan’s captain Sawa Homare scored an equalizer to bring the result to 2-2. This led to a penalty shootout, which Japan won 3-1, securing a dramatic first World Cup title. Sawa was recognized as the tournament’s best player and top scorer.
Previous FIFA Women’s World Cup Tournaments
| Host | Champion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | China | United States |
| 1995 | Sweden | Norway |
| 1999 | United States | United States |
| 2003 | United States | Germany |
| 2007 | China | Germany |
| 2011 | Germany | Japan |
| 2015 | Canada | United States |
| 2019 | France | United States |
On June 9, FIFA announced the following rankings for women’s national teams. Japan placed eleventh, making it the second highest ranking team in the Asian Football Confederation, after Australia in tenth.
Top FIFA Ranking Women’s National Teams
| Best World Cup Performance | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | Champion (four times: 1991, 1999, 2015, 2019) |
| 2 | Germany | Champion (twice: 2003, 2007) |
| 3 | Sweden | Runner-up (2003) |
| 4 | England | Third (2015) |
| 5 | France | Fourth (2011) |
| 6 | Spain | Round of 16 (2019) |
| 7 | Canada | Fourth (2003) |
| 8 | Brazil | Runner-up (2007) |
| 9 | Netherlands | Runner-up (2019) |
| 10 | Australia | Quarterfinals (three times: 2007, 2011, 2015) |
| 11 | Japan | Champion (2011) |
Created by Nippon.com based on FIFA rankings announced on June 9 2023.
Along with Japan and Australia, other members from the Asian Football Confederation competing are China (14), South Korea (17), Vietnam (32), and the Philippines (46), with the latter two teams making their World Cup debuts.
After winning the 2011 World Cup in Germany, Japan continued to rank third for around three years, but has slid to around tenth in recent years. At the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, it lost 3-1 to Sweden in the quarterfinals, while at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asia Cup held in India, it reached the semifinals before losing to China on penalties after a 2-2 tie.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Japan’s starting lineup at a friendly match against Nigeria, held at Noevir Stadium Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, on October 6, 2022. © Jiji.)