Japan was not a major football force until the end of 1980s with its team just a small and amateur team, but since 1990s when Japanese football became fully professionalised, Japan has quickly emerged as one of the most successful teams in Asia, having qualified for the last six consecutive FIFA World Cups and having won the AFC Asian Cup a record four times. The team has also finished second in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
