Group H | Cup Highlights |  Results | Roster | Road to France | Facts and Figures

Late Goal by Croatia's Suker Eliminates Japan
Croatia's Davor Suker scored in the 77th minute on June 20, and Croatia beat Japan, 1-0. The loss eliminated Japan, competing in its first Cup.

From AP

JUNE 14: Japan Loses 1-0 in Its World Cup Debut
JUNE 20: Suker's Score Puts Croatia Close to Advancing
JUNE 26: Jamaica Wins First World Cup Game
Japan Has Fever but Needs Confidence
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World Cup Highlights

First appearance in World Cup finals
Won bronze medal in the 1968 Mexico Olympics
Won 1992 Asian Cup in Hiroshima
Won Asian-African championships in Tokyo 1993

First-Round Results

Day Opponent Site Sunday, June 14 Argentina 1, Japan 0 Toulouse Saturday, June 20 Croatia 1, Japan 0 Nantes Friday, June 26 Jamaica 2, Japan 1 Lyon

Complete First-Round Results

Roster

Pos. Name Age Club GK Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi 23 Yokohama Marinos GK Noboyuki Kojima 32 Bellmare Hiratsuka GK Seigo Narazaki 21 Yokohama Flugels D Masami Ihara 30 Yokohama Marinos D Naoki Soma 26 Kashima Antlers D Akira Narahashi 26 Kashima Antlers D Yutaka Akita 27 Kashima Antlers D Norio Omura 28 Yokohama Marinos D Eisuke Nakanishi 24 JEF Utd Ichihara D Toshihide Saito 28 Shimizu S-Pulse M Motohiro Yamaguchi 28 Yokohama Flugels M Hidetoshi Nakata 21 Bellmare Hiratsuka M Hiroshi Nanami 24 Jubilo Iwata M Shinji Ono 18 Urawa Red Diamonds M Toshihiro Hattori 24 Jubilo Iwata M Hiroaki Morishima 25 Cerezo Osaka M Teruyoshi Ito 23 Shimizu S-Pulse M Takashi Hirano 23 Nagoya Grampus-8 F Wagner Lopes 29 Bellmare Hiratsuka F Shoji Jo 22 Yokohama Marinos F Masashi Nakayama 30 Jubilo Iwata F Masayuki Okano 25 Urawa Red Diamonds

Road to France

Won Lost Tied GF GA 9 1 5 51 12 How Qualified: 2nd place in AFC Group B, defeated Iran in playoff

Date Result AFC Third-Place Match Nov. 16, 1997 Japan 3, Iran 2 AFC Second Round: Group B Nov. 8, 1997 Japan 5, Kazakhstan 1 Nov. 1, 1997 South Korea 0, Japan 2 Oct. 26, 1997 Japan 1, United Arab Emirates 1 Oct. 11, 1997 Uzbekistan 1, Japan 1 Oct. 4, 1997 Kazakhstan 1, Japan 1 Sept. 28, 1997 Japan 1, South Korea 2 Sept. 19, 1997 United Arab Emirates 0, Japan 0 Sept. 7, 1997 Japan 6, Uzbekistan 3 AFC First Round: Group 4 June 28, 1997 Japan 1, Oman 1 June 25, 1997 Japan 3, Nepal 0 June 22, 1997 Japan 10, Macao 0 March 27, 1997 Nepal 0, Japan 6 March 25, 1997 Macao 0, Japan 10 March 23, 1997 Oman 0, Japan 1

Facts and Figures

Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the north Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula
Population: 125.5 million (1995 estimate)
Capital: Tokyo
Comparative area: Slightly smaller than California
Religions: Observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84 percent, other 16 percent (including 0.7 Christian)
Landscape: Mostly rugged and mountainous; four large islands and thousands of smaller ones make up Japan; four major islands — Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku — form a curve that extends for 1,200 miles