Japan's National Team: 2014-15
In 2015, following a semifinal exit in the Asian Cup, Japan decided to terminate the contract of Coach Javier Agguire, who was under a cloud of controversy over a match-fixing scandal in Spain. The timing was awkward, and there were not many top candidates, but at the suggestion of former NT coach Ivica Osim, the JFA appointed Vahid Halilhodzic to take over as NT boss.
Halilhodzic inherited a lot of talent, with players like Keisuke Honda , Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki just hitting the prime of their careers. Yet something never quite clicked in the relationship between Japanese football and coach Halilhodzic. Japan managed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup earlier than any other team except Russia, the hosts. And yet, the content of the Samurai Blue's performances under "Coach Halil" was so underwhelming that the JFA decided to terminate his contract before the World Cup began.
Akira Nishino would take over the helm, and lead his team to the round of 16 at the Russia World Cup. Unfortunately for Halilhodzic, he would be relegated to little more than a footnote in Japan's NT history, despite a fairly "successful" three-year stint in the job.
Japan Nat'l Team 2015-18 |
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| Date | Venue | Score | Opponent | Goals by . . . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2015 | Oita Dome, Japan | 2 - 0 | Tunisia | -- |
| Mar 31, 2015 | Ajinomoto Stadium | 5 - 1 | Uzbekistan | -- |
| June 11, 2015 | Yokohama Int'l Stadium | 4 - 0 | Iraq | -- |
| June 16, 2015 | Saitama Stadium | 0 - 0 | Singapore | -- |
| Aug 2, 2015 | Wuhan Stadium, China | 1 - 2 | North Korea | -- |
| Aug 5, 2015 | Wuhan Stadium, China | 1 - 1 | South Korea | -- |
| Aug 9, 2015 | Wuhan Stadium, China | 1 - 1 | China | -- |
| Sep 3, 2015 | Saitama Stadium | 3 - 0 | Cambodia | -- |
| Xxx 1, 2015 | Seeb Stadium, Oman | 3 - 0 | Syria | -- |
| Oct 13, 2015 | Azadi Stadium, Iran | 1 - 1 | Iran | -- |
| Nov 12, 2015 | Nat'l Stadium, Singapore | 3 - 0 | Singapore | -- |
| Nov 17, 2015 | Pnom Penh, Cambodia | 2 - 0 | Cambodia | -- |
| Mar 24, 2016 | Saitama Stadium | 5 - 0 | Afghanistan | -- |
| Mar 29, 2016 | Saitama Stadium | 5 - 0 | Syria | -- |
| June 3, 2016 | Toyoda Stadium | 7 - 2 | Bulgaria | -- |
| June 7, 2016 | Suita Stadium | 1 - 2 | Bosnia | -- |
| Sep 1, 2016 | Saitama Stadium | 1 - 2 | UAE | -- |
| Sep 6, 2016 | Bangkok, Thailand | 2 - 0 | Thailand | -- |
| Oct 6, 2016 | Saitama Stadium | 2 - 1 | Iraq | -- |
| Oct 11, 2016 | Melbourne, Australia | 1 - 1 | Australia | -- |
| Nov 11, 2016 | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 4 - 0 | Oman | -- |
| Nov 15, 2016 | Saitama Stadium | 2 - 1 | Saudi Arabia | -- |
| Mar 23, 2017 | Abu Dhabi, UAE | 2 - 0 | UAE | -- |
| Mar 28, 2017 | Saitama Stadium | 4 - 0 | Thailand | -- |
| June 7, 2017 | Ajinomoto Stadium | 1 - 1 | Syria | -- |
| June 13, 2017 | Tehran, Iran | 1 - 1 | Iraq | -- |
| Aug 31, 2017 | Saitama Stadium | 2 - 0 | Australia | -- |
| Sep 5, 2017 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 0 - 1 | Saudi Arabia | -- |
| Oct 6, 2017 | Toyota Stadium | 2 - 1 | New Zealand | -- |
| Oct 10, 2017 | Saitama Stadium | 3 - 3 | Haiti | -- |