Masashi Nakayama

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Born in Shizuoka, Nakayama attended Fujieda Higashi High School and University of Tsukuba before joining Yamaha Motors (later Júbilo Iwata). He made his J1 League debut on 11 March 1994. He holds a record for scoring four hat-tricks in four successive J1 League games in April 1998, recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. He also holds the record for top scorer in a single season with 36 goals in 1998. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he scored Japan's first ever World Cup goal against Jamaica. He scored 21 goals in 53 appearances for the Japan national team. He holds the world record fastest hat-trick at international level, scoring three goals in three minutes and three seconds against Brunei on 16 February 2000.

In Their Own Story

The moment came on 26 June 1998. Japan faced Jamaica in their final group match of the FIFA World Cup. With the score level, Nakayama struck. He scored the only goal of the tournament for Japan, and in doing so, he became the first Japanese player to score in a World Cup. It was a single goal, but it marked Japan's arrival on the global stage. Later, on 16 February 2000, Nakayama produced another piece of history. In an Asian Cup qualifier against Brunei, he scored three goals in three minutes and three seconds — the fastest hat-trick ever recorded in international football, recognized as a world record.

Reader's Guide

Nakayama played as a forward for Júbilo Iwata from 1994 to 2009, then played three seasons for Consadole Sapporo before retiring as a player on 4 December 2012 at age 45. He later trained with and signed for Azul Claro Numazu, renewing his contract for 2017 without having made a debut. He became U-18 coach for Azul Claro, then assistant manager of Júbilo Iwata on 13 January 2020. On 13 November 2022, he was appointed manager of Azul Claro. He married actress Tomoko Ikuta in 1996; they have a daughter. He has appeared as himself in anime and on the cover of Winning Eleven video games.

Did You Know?

• He scored 16 goals in four consecutive J1 League games in April 1998, including four hat-tricks.
• His fastest international hat-trick (3 minutes 3 seconds) broke Willie Hall's 1938 record by 27 seconds.
• He was J.League Top Scorer in 1998 and 2000, and J.League MVP in 1998.
• He scored Japan's first ever World Cup goal, against Jamaica in 1998.