Teams

Japan qualified for their seventh straight World Cup with a game to spare in the Asian section of qualifying despite a slight hiccup in the earlier matches of the qualifiers where they lost 2 of their first 3 games, but following a run of 6 straight wins during which they conceded just once, they finished the group second to Saudi Arabia to automatically qualify. They managed to reach the round of 16 last time around in Russia, but they agonizingly let a 2 goal lead slip and conceded three times in the last 20 minutes as they were eliminated by Belgium. It was the joint furthest they had ever reached in the World Cup, but it will may be a tall order for them to get out of this group with European giants Spain and Germany awaiting them.