Why you should watch every team at the 2018 World Cup

Japan

Somewhat quietly, Japan have been one of the most consistently successful teams in Asia. They’ve played in every World Cup since 1998 — although only twice qualifying for the round of 16 — and of the six AFC Asian Cups that were played from 1992 to 2011, they won four of them, a record.

A number of Japanese players have broken through at big European clubs. Most notably, Keisuke Honda made 81 appearances for AC Milan and now, after rumors that the Seattle Sounders were interested, plays in Liga MX for Pachuca. Defender Yuto Nagatomo has been on the books at Inter Milan since 2011 and is now on loan at Galatasaray. His 101 international caps make him one of the more experienced players on the roster.

Makoto Hasebe has been in the Bundesliga since 2008, and after stints at Wolfsburg and FC Nurnberg, he starts Eintracht Frankfurt. Fortuna Dusseldorf teammates Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Usami join Honda in attack. 35-year-old Metz goalkeeper Elji Kawashima will start in goal.

Japan have been a constant presence on the world stage, but they’ve yet to make much of a dent. The 2011 earthquake forced them out of the Copa America despite an invitation (they are one of the few teams from outside the Americas to have taken part in that tournament; they finished bottom of Group A in 1999) and the one time they advanced out of the World Cup group stage, they went quietly in the round of 16, 1-0 to Turkey in the 2002 World Cup they co-hosted with South Korea.

They will be picked by some to challenge for the top of Group H, a fairly even and competitive group that also features Colombia, Poland and Senegal. If they can get production out of their top players, they could break their streak of group stage eliminations.