Japan National Soccer Team Arrives, Calls Nashville Home During World Cup

The fans who came to Geodis Park to watch the Japan national soccer team practice didn't get to see much.

The evening included a taiko drum performance, a welcome from Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell and Nashville SC chief business officer Lindsey Paola, and about 30 minutes of players stretching, jogging and kicking the ball back and forth, followed by autographs for a lucky handful — but no actual soccer.

Still, it was a rare opportunity for Japan's American supporters — who came from not only Tennessee, but Alabama, Michigan, New York and Texas — to see their team in person before it kicks off its highly anticipated World Cup campaign in less than a week.

Japan arrived in Nashville on June 8, beginning its time in the Music City with an open training session at Nashville SC's home stadium. The team will stay for the duration of its World Cup run, training at NSC's facility in Antioch in between matches. Samurai Blue, No. 18 in the current FIFA World Rankings, are in Group F of the World Cup along with the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia.

Nashville is not hosting games during the World Cup but is one of a number of North American cities hosting teams for their base camps during the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19.

"This is just so cool as a kid who grew up playing soccer in Nashville, watching tapes of the World Cup at soccer camp," O'Connell said in his opening remarks. "It's incredible to stop wondering why we don't play soccer in the United States, why we don't play professional soccer in Nashville. Because now we do, and we play it on a global stage."

Japan will face the Netherlands in Arlington, Texas on June 14; Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico on June 20; and Sweden in Arlington on June 25. The team played a pre-World Cup friendly match in Tokyo on May 31, beating Iceland 1-0, and spent five days training in Monterrey before getting to Nashville.

Although it has qualified for every World Cup since 1998, Japan has never gotten past the round of 16, though it came close the past two tournaments. It lost 3-2 to Belgium on a last-minute goal in 2018, and beat Spain and Germany to win a challenging group in 2022, though it then fell to Croatia on penalties.

Key players in top European leagues like Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo; Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda; Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo; Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada; Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Itō; and Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki give Japan hope that it can finally reach the quarterfinals and maybe go further.

"We are confident, we are preparing very well," Suzuki said. "I can’t wait to play."

Most of Japan's roster plays in Europe or domestically, though the team will have a secret weapon of sorts in Maya Yoshida. The defender has played for the LA Galaxy since 2023, and though he's retired from international soccer, he'll be with the team during the World Cup as a "support player," a role in which he can use his experience in America to guide his former teammates.

"So far it's good," Yoshida said. "Everybody's very impressed for the facility, stadium and atmosphere. Probably more questions coming, and that's why I'm here, to help the team."

While he might compete against Nashville SC for most of the year, Yoshida appreciates being able to use the team's training facility and stadium, as well as the welcome Japan got on its first day. As far as his impression of the city itself, he summed it up in a few words: "Beautiful, country music and bachelor night."

"Hopefully we don't get too drunk," he joked.

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Japan national team holds World Cup practices in Nashville SC Geodis Park