Vahid Halilhodzic’s side have been drawn against Colombia, Senegal, and Poland in first-round Group H at the 2018 World Cup, following the draw at the Kremlin on Friday.
Japan will have a chance for revenge in its opening match on 19 June against Colombia, eliminated the four-time Asian champions from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“It’s a group where all the teams have their own strengths,” said Halilhodzic, as quoted by AFP.
“The Colombia game will be key. Purely by coincidence, I watched a video of them a few days ago. For Japan it will be chance to get revenge for the last World Cup.”
At the last World Cup, Japan lost to Cote d’Ivoire, drew with Greece and ended their campaign with a humiliating 4-1 defeat by the Colombians in their final group stage game.