Japan national football team
The Japanese team is commonly known by the fans and media as , , or as abbreviated expressions. Although the team does not have an official nickname as such, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Takeshi Okada, the team was known as . Recently, the team has been known or nicknamed as the "Samurai Blue", while Japanese news media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup still referred it to by the recently departed manager's (Akira Nishino) last name, as .
Football in Japan
Before World War II the term in general use was "shūkyū" (蹴球, "kick-ball"), a Sino-Japanese term. With previously exclusive Japanese terms replaced by American influence after the war, "sakkā" became more commonplace. In recent years, many professional teams have named themselves F.C.s (football clubs), with examples being F.C. Tokyo and Kyoto Sanga F.C.