The current FIFA Women's World Cup was originally known as the FIFA Women's World Championship. The upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019, scheduled to kick-off on Friday 7 June, will be its eighth edition and Japan is one of the seven countries who has participated in all editions. Here we will look back on all seven tournaments, from the inaugural tournament held in 1991 to the previous tournament.

The 1st FIFA Women's World Championship

The inaugural tournament was held at China PR on November 1991, where Japan lost all three matches played. The team was led by Coach SUZUKI Tamotsu, team captain NODA Akemi (Current coach of Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara), and the current coach of Nadeshiko Japan, TAKAKURA Asako was one of the players at this tournament. This tournament gave Japan a major reality check, especially with the 0-3 loss at the group stage against the USA, who eventually won the tournament.

The 2nd FIFA Women's World Championship

The second edition of the tournament was held at Sweden in 1995, where Japan faced Germany in the tournament opener. Despite losing the match 0-1, Japan went onto earn their first victory at the Women's World Cup, when they defeated Brazil, thanks to the two goals scored by Noda. In this tournament, Japan advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time, but lost to the USA with a score of 0-4. It was Norway who won the title, as they showcased great fire power by scoring 23 goals in six matches played. SAWA Homare made her first Women's World Cup appearance at this tournament, first of six tournaments she would play in.

The 3rd FIFA Women's World Championship

The USA hosted the third tournament in 1999, where the participating countries increased from 12 to 16. Despite the goal scored by OTAKE Nami in the first match, Japan was eliminated from the group stage without a single win. The USA earn their second title after defeating China PR in penalty kicks at the final where the match attracted 90,185 people, which is a record crowd for the Women's World Cup. This year’s tournament holds another record, as an average of 37,944 people attended the matches, showcasing the popularity of women’s football in the USA.

FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003

In the year when the tournament was officially renamed as the FIFA Women's World Cup, the host nation saw a change from China PR to the USA, due to the affect of SARS. Despite their 6-0 victory over Argentina in the first match, Japan lost the following two matches to be eliminated from the group stage. The final was played between Germany and Sweden, where Germany scored the game winner in extra time to earn their first title.

FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 2007

Japan was eliminated at the group stage with a record of one win, one draw, and one loss, but saw goals scored by MIYAMA Aya and NAGASATO Yuki, gaining precious experience through this tournament. China PR lost at the quarterfinals despite the high anticipation as the host nation, while Germany showed their dominance by conceding zero goals in their six matches to earn their back-to-back Women's World Cup title.

FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011

It was a tournament to remember for the Japanese fans. Led by Coach SASAKI Norio, Japan defeated the two-time defending champions Germany at the quarterfinals and bested the USA in penalty kicks at the final to win their first ever tournament hosted by FIFA. Their team captain Sawa was named as the tournament MVP as well as winning the golden boot, boosting the national popularity of Nadeshiko Japan.

FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015

In the tournament where Japan entered as the defending champions, artificial turf and Goal-line technology were officially employed by the tournament. Although Japan advanced to the final for the second tournament in a row, they lost to the USA, who won their third overall title. From this year, the participating countries of the tournament increased from 16 to 24 and the match numbers went from 32 to 52. As a result, the tournament marked the most attendance in Women's World Cup history, after attracting 1,353,506 people to the matches.

Schedule

Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) Squad, Schedule

FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019

Tournament Dates: Fri. 7 June - Sun. 7 July 2019

Group Stage:
Tue. 11 June 2019 01:00 (Japan time)
vs Argentina Women's National Team

Fri. 14 June 2019 22:00 (Japan time)
vs Scotland Women's National Team

Thu. 20 June 2019 04:00 (Japan time)
vs England Women's National Team

Tournament Information