The amazing Japan and its 100-year plan to dominate soccer: when do you expect to be world champion

Though Japan It is one of the great economic powers worldwide, it is far from standing out in the soccer scene. Aware of the millions of dollars and the influences that move the most popular sport on the planet, the Japanese designed a 100 year plan that is already underway in the attempt to be world champions within a period that expires in 2092.

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Giving greater importance to local competitions, encouraging participation in international competitions such as the Club World Cup, encouraging young people to practice this sport, capturing the interest of society and promoting work in youth categories are just some of the main aspects From this project.

The results, still insufficient but more than significant, are in sight. Without going further, His first qualification for a World Cup was in France 1998, six years after the machinery of his plan began to work. His performance was not good: they said goodbye in the group stage with three defeats. But that was just the beginning of the process.

In the following World Cup they shared the venue with South Korea (the first World Cup organized by two countries) and sealed a more than important classification to the round of 16. Since then, they have played all the World Cups that followed. In Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014 they were knocked out in the first round, while in South Africa 2010 and Russia 2018 they advanced in the first round.

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In Qatar 2022 They surprised the world and confirmed that their plan is serious, even though the draw in April did not bode well for them with the rivals assigned to them. The Japanese team, however, took first place in Group E, with two historic victories against Germany and Spain. In the round of 16 they will face Croatia, the current runner-up in Russia 2018, with the aim of advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.

Japan and its 100-year plan to be world champion

In the early 90’s, Japan’s soccer had bottomed out. His league was one of the least competitive in the world and his team had never qualified for a World Cup. The first strategy of the Japan Football Association (JFA) was similar to that of the United States in Major League Soccer: bring in late-career stars.

Among the first to arrive stands out the Brazilian Zico, who joined the Kashima Antlers in 1991; English Gary Linekerwho signed in 1992 with the Nagoya Grampus Eight, and Ramon Diaz, who in 1993 agreed to a contract with Yokohama Marinos.

That was the first step in getting some attention and putting his league on the world stage. However, Japan knew that signing players in the twilight of their careers would not help them become world champions.

Therefore, they focused on background issues, such as professionalize your local championshipwhich until then was made up of 12 large Japanese companies that competed with each other with players who were far from dedicating themselves completely to the sport.

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Qualifying for France 1998 was confirmation that Japan was heading in the right direction. Since then, they have never missed a World Cup event again and even made it past the group stage four times. In the round of 16 of Russia 2018 they stood on an equal footing with Belgium, one of the great candidates for the title. Japan started winning 2-0, but the Belgians made it 3-2 on the last play of the game and eliminated the Asians.

His plan is also reflected in the increasingly strong ties with Europe. It is that more and more young Japanese are reaching the main leagues of the Old Continent, after others like Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinsuke Nakamura, Keishuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa o Shinji Okazaki they would open the way. One of the great examples is Take Kubo21, who has been in LaLiga in Spain since 2019 and went through Mallorca, Villareal, Getafe and is now a member of Real Sociedad.

Also Hiroki Abethe 23-year-old who two years ago joined the Barcelona subsidiary who plays in the second division. Something similar happens with Takuhiro Nakaibetter known as Pipi, who was summoned in 2020 by Zinedine Zidane to train with the first team of Real Madridwith just 16 years old, and who in 2022 renewed his contract for three seasons with the Merengue club.

This expansion has little to do with football on the Old Continent the landing of striker Naohiro Takahara in Boca Juniors, at the beginning of the 2000s, when Mauricio Macri added him to the multi-champion team led by Carlos Bianchi. He came from being a figure in Hamburg, but in Argentina he only scored one goal; the sixth in a 6-1 win over Lanús, in a play that the Japanese defined by taking the ball ahead.

Step by Step, Japan begins to dominate new spaces in world football and achieve achievements at the international level. In Qatar 2022 he dreams of eliminating Croatia to advance to the next phase. In any case, an elimination will not frustrate the Japanese: they know they have until 2092 to complete their plan and become world champions.