The Japanese national soccer team defeated France 4-0 in the third round of the qualifying league, and decided to advance to the quarterfinals with all three wins in the qualifying league.
This is the 11th time that Japan has passed the qualifying league with all the wins in the Olympic soccer men.
Japan was the first soccer boy to participate in the Olympic Games in 1932 in Berlin.
At that time, there was no qualifying league, and 16 countries participated and all were held in tournaments.
In the first round, Japan defeated Sweden, who was called the "Giant of Scandinavia", 3-2, and was praised as "the miracle of Berlin".
The second time I participated was the 1956 Melbourne Games after the war.
Japan, which was organized around students, lost to local Australia 0-2 in the first round.
In the subsequent Olympic Games, a qualifying league was set up before the tournament, and Japan made its third appearance at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
At this time, Saburo Kawabuchi and others played an active role in breaking through the qualifying league with 1 win and 1 loss, and advanced to the top 8.
In the following 1968 Mexico tournament, he advanced to the best eight in the qualifying league with 1 win and 2 draws.
After that, Japan, which advanced to the 3rd place playoff, played against the local Mexico and won 2-0 with the success of the famous combination of Kunishige Kamamoto and Ryuichi Sugiyama, and won the bronze medal, which is the first medal.
The fifth appearance was the 1996 Atlanta Games, 28 years after the Mexico Games.
Japan, which was all J-League players, won a dramatic victory against Brazil, a candidate for victory in the first match of the qualifying league, and was called "Miracles of Miami."
The qualifying league was 2 wins and 1 loss, but missed the quarter-finals due to the goal difference.
In the following 2000 Sydney Games, he passed the qualifying league with 2 wins and 1 loss and played against the United States in the quarterfinals.
The match was a penalty kick, but Hidetoshi Nakata, the fourth player, missed the best four.
The 2004 Athens tournament lost the qualifying league with 1 win and 2 losses, and the 2008 Beijing tournament continued to suffer with all three losses, but the 2012 London tournament won 2 wins and 1 draw, including winning the championship candidate Spain. I passed the qualifying league for the first time in 3 tournaments.
This tournament lost to South Korea in the bronze medal match, and did not win the bronze medal for the first time in 44 years.
And last time, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro tournament ended in 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw, and was eliminated in the qualifying league.
Japan passed Group A in the lead with all three wins.
The quarterfinals will face New Zealand on the 31st of this month.