On 6 December 1993, Homare Sawa earned her first cap for Japan.
She was only 15 years old at the time, but had been playing professionally for three years with L. League team Yomiura Beleza, where her performances led to her being named to the league's Best XI for 1993 and a national team call-up the same year.
That first match was against the Philippines in the 1993 AFC Women's Championship. After missing Japan's opener, a 6-1 win over Chinese Taipei, Sawa delivered against the Philippines, scoring four goals in the 15-0 victory. They then went on to win their next match over Hong Kong, but were eliminated by China in the semifinals.
In 2011, she captained the team to the World Cup title, then followed that by winning that year's Ballon d'Or. By the time she retired in 2015, she set the team records for appearances (205) and goals (83).
On 18 September 1967, defender Masami Ihara was born in the Japanese town of Minkuchi. We went on to make a then-record 122 appearances for the men's national team between 1988 and 1999.
Ihara received his first cap at the age of 21 while playing for the University of Tsukuba and made five national team appearances in that first year. Upon graduation, he joined the Nissan Motors team (which later became known as Yokohama Marinos) and remained there until 1999.
In between, he made another 117 national team appearances, including their title-winning run in the 1992 Asian Cup and, in 1998, their first World Cup. His record of 122 remains a record for the men's team, but is second to Homare Sawa, who was capped 186 times for the women's team.
At the club level, Ihara won the J-League with Marinos in 1995, a season in which he was also named the Asian Footballer of the Year.
After one season with Júbilo Iwata (2000) and two with Urawa Red Diamonds (2001-02), Ihara retired and moved into coaching. His 122 caps remained a team record until October 2012, when he was passed by Yasuhito Endō. Ihara currently sits in second place on the appearances table after Endō's 152 caps.
On 6 September 1978, former Japan national team captain and FIFA World Player of the Year Homare Sawa was born in Tokyo.
She started her footballing career at the age of thirteen with L.League champions Yomiuri Beleza, making thirteen appearances for them in 1991. She remained there for a total of ten seasons, scoring 79 goals in 136 appearances while winning league titles (1991-93). She spent two more spells with Beleza from 2004 to 2009 then again in 2011, winning another six league titles.
In between, she played in the United States for the Denver Diamonds (1999), Atlanta Beat (2001-03), and Washington Freedom (2009-10).
Sawa received her first call-up to the Japanese national team in 1993 and played a key role in their run to the quarterfinals in the 1995 Women's World Cup. She starred for them in the next four World Cups, and eventually captained them to the trophy in 2011 with a win over the United States on penalties in the final. That performance helped her win the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award.
She won silver with Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics, then announced her immediate retirement from international football. She played club football in Japan for Kobe Leonessa from 2010 until 2015, when she retired completely.
On 17 July 2011, Japan won the Women's World Cup, beating the US on penalties, 2-2 (3-1).
It was the capstone of a remarkable run for Japan, whose history in the competition included one quarterfinal appearance (in 1995) to go with four group-stage exits. But they had put the rest of the world on notice by reaching the semi-finals in the 2008 Olympics before losing to the United States.
They finished second in their World Cup group to England to set up a stunning extra-time won over hosts Germany in the quarterfinals, then beat Sweden 3-1 in the semis to fix their date with two-time champions the United States.
Playing before a crowd of 48,817 at Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena, the two teams played to a scoreless stalemate in the first half due in large part to outstanding performances from the two keepers, Ayumi Kaihori and Hope Solo. At the break, US manager Pia Sundhage replaced support striker Lauren Cheney with forward Alex Morgan, who delivered a go-ahead strike in the 69th minute. But Japanese winger Aya Miyama equalized in the 81st minute to send the match into extra time.
There, the Americans again pulled ahead courtesy of a 104th-minute goal from forward Abby Wambach, but Japan again drew level, this time with an amazing strike from midfielder and captain Homare Sawa, who deflected a corner kick into the goal in the 117th minute using the outside of her foot.
In the shootout, Kaihori saved two of the Americans' first three attempts, with the other going over the bar. Solo made a save of her own, so the tally was 2-0 for Japan after three kicks each. Wambach converted the next shot for the US, but central defender Saki Kumagai then beat Solo to capture the trophy.
On 9 July 2011, Japan eliminated 2-time defending champions and hosts Germany from the World Cup with an extra-time quarterfinal goal. They then went on the lift the cup.
The teams had met three times in previous World Cups and Germany won each one. The last two were in the group stages of the 2003 and 2007 tournaments, both of which ended with Germany as champions. As hosts of the 2011 edition, they were heavy favorites to win it a third straight time.
They breezed through the group stage with a perfect record to set up their quarterfinal meeting with Japan in Wolfsburg. It was only the second time Japan had advanced out of the first round and was as far as they had ever progressed.
The Germans controlled the early part of the match, but could not get the ball in the net despite outshooting Japan 23 to 9 on the day. Japan, meanwhile, settled in under the leadership of midfielder and captain Homare Sawa, who helped them limit Germany's chances by keeping the majority of possession.
Scoreless through 107 minutes of extra time, the day's only goal came in the 108th, as substitute forward Karina Maruyama drove the ball just inside the far post, handing Germany their first defeat in sixteen World Cup games.
Afterward, Japan beat Sweden in the semifinals, then won the final over the United States in a penalty shootout.
On 6 December 1993, Homare Sawa earned her first cap for Japan. She has since become the team's all-time appearances leader.
She was only 15 years old at the time, but had been playing professionally for three years with L. League team Yomiura Beleza, where her performances led to her being named to the league's Best XI for 1993 and to a national team call-up the same year.
That first match was against the Philippines in the 1993 AFC Women's Championship. After missing Japan's opener, a 6-1 win over Chinese Taipei, Sawa delivered against the Philippines, scoring four goals in the 15-0 victory. They then went on to win their next match over Hong Kong, but were eliminated by China in the semifinals.
Since then, Sawa has amassed a team-record total of 186 caps and is also their top goalscorer with 81. In 2011, she captained the team to the World Cup title, then followed that by winning that year's Ballon d'Or.
On 18 September 1967, defender Masami Ihara was born in the Japanese town of Minkuchi. We went on to make a record 122 appearances for the men's national team between 1988 and 1999.
Ihara received his first cap at the age of 21 while playing for the University of Tsukuba and made five national team appearances in that first year. Upon graduation, he joined the Nissan Motors team (which later became known as Yokohama Marinos) and remained there until 1999.
In between, he made another 117 national team appearances, including their title-winning run in the 1992 Asian Cup and, in 1998, their first World Cup. His record of 122 remains a record for the men's team, but is second to Homare Sawa, who was capped 186 times for the women's team.
At the club level, Ihara won the J-League with Marinos in 1995, a season in which he was also named the Asian Footballer of the Year.
After one season with Júbilo Iwata (2000) and two with Urawa Red Diamonds (2001-02), Ihara retired and moved into coaching.
On 6 September 1978, former Japan national team captain and FIFA World Player of the Year Homare Sawa was born in Tokyo.
She started her footballing career at the age of thirteen with L.League champions Yomiuri Beleza, making thirteen appearances for them in 1991. She remained there for a total of ten seasons, scoring 79 goals in 136 appearances while winning league titles (1991-93). She spent two more spells with Beleza from 2004 to 2009 then again in 2011, winning another six league titles.
In between, she played in the United States for the Denver Diamonds (1999), Atlanta Beat (2001-03), and Washington Freedom (2009-10).
Sawa received her first call-up to the Japanese national team in 1993 and played a key role in their run to the quarterfinals in the 1995 Women's World Cup. She starred for them in the next four World Cups, and eventually captained them to the trophy in 2011 with a win over the United States on penalties in the final. That performance helped her win the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award.
She won silver with Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics, then announced her immediate retirement from international football. She continues to play club football in Japan for Kobe Leonessa, whom she joined in 2010.
On 17 July 2011, Japan won the Women's World Cup, beating the US on penalties, 2-2 (3-1).
It was the capstone of a remarkable run for Japan, whose history in the competition included one quarterfinal appearance (in 1995) to go with four group-stage exits. But they had put the rest of the world on notice by reaching the semi-finals in the 2008 Olympics before losing to the United States.
They finished second in their World Cup group to England to set up a stunning extra-time won over hosts Germany in the quarterfinals, then beat Sweden 3-1 in the semis to fix their date with two-time champions the United States.
Playing before a crowd of 48,817 at Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena, the two teams played to a scoreless stalemate in the first half due in large part to outstanding performances from the two keepers, Ayumi Kaihori and Hope Solo. At the break, US manager Pia Sundhage replaced support striker Lauren Cheney with forward Alex Morgan, who delivered a go-ahead strike in the 69th minute. But Japanese winger Aya Miyama equalized in the 81st minute to send the match into extra time.
There, the Americans again pulled ahead courtesy of a 104th-minute goal from forward Abby Wambach, but Japan again drew level, this time with an amazing strike from midfielder and captain Homare Sawa, who deflected a corner kick into the goal in the 117th minute using the outside of her foot.
In the shootout, Kaihori saved two of the Americans' first three attempts, with the other going over the bar. Solo made a save of her own, so the tally was 2-0 for Japan after three kicks each. Wambach converted the next shot for the US, but central defender Saki Kumagai then beat Solo to capture the trophy.
