The Samurai Blue have been faultless so far in World Cup qualifying, their success underpinned by an ambitious 100-year plan for the game. Meanwhile, Australian soccer...
Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey - and Even Iraq - Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World’s Most Popular Sport.
So far in qualification for 2026, the Samurai Blue have been utterly faultless. They have played nine and won all of them, scoring 38 goals and conceding zero. Last campaign, they won in Australia for the first time; last week, they claimed their first victory on Saudi Arabian soil to sit clear on top of Group C by five points, and have been rated a 99 per cent chance of reaching the next World Cup .
Twenty-five years in, they are ahead of schedule: they have 60 professional clubs across three tiers of football, connected through promotion and relegation, underpinned by a thriving high school and university system in full alignment, largely unchallenged by any sports aside from baseball, which remains Japan’s undisputed number one sport.
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