The Samurai Blue played Cameroon to a scoreless draw in Utrecht, on Friday afternoon local time. It was a competent performance, but certainly nothing to stir the pulse.
Read more: Japan-Cameroon 201009The Young Samurai Blue started the year 2020 with an abject performance and a loss against Saudi Arabia. So should we be worried?
Read more: Japan-Saudi 200110The East Asian Cup opened on Tuesday evening, with a host of fresh new faces for the Samurai Blue faithful to run the rule over. The best new debutante of all was not a player, although most J.League fans have come to know it very well over the past decade.
Read more: Japan-Korea 191210Japan's Olympic Team made their Prime Time debut on Saturday, in chilly Nagasaki. The Young Samurai set the pitch alight, and gave fans a pleasant winter dream for the coming New Year.
Read more: Japan-Jamaica 191228Japan's 2022 World Cup qualification match on Thursday evening was another chance for the Samurai Blue to try out new players, tactics and formations against a small but feisty opponent. Instead, we got pretty much the same old, same old. Fortunately, next week's clash with Venezuela and the mid-December East Asian Cup should give us a chance to look at some new faces.
Read more: Japan-Kyrgiz 191114The Samurai Blue continued their experiments at the East Asian Cup, trotting out a host of debutants for the match against Hong Kong. The final result flatters them slightly, but the prospective Tokyo Olympians coasted to victory on a hat trick by Samurai Blue newcomer Koki Ogawa.
Read more: Japan-Hongkong 191214 
There are two Japan national team squads in the coming weeks as they play a World Cup Qualifier - the 1st XI, and then a Kirin Cup friendly - a chance to give some lesser-experienced players a chance to shine.
Read more: Samurai Blue Squad(s)!