Southampton defender Maya Yoshida hopes Japan can enter uncharted territory and make the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Japan managed to reach the round of 16 at the recently concluded World Cup in Russia, but the Samurai Blue were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion, losing 3-2 to Belgium in injury time after giving up a two-goal lead to the highly-fancied Red Devils.

Speaking at recent press conference at the Osaka headquarters of sports apparel maker Mizuno, Yoshida, 29, said, "Japan has never managed to get to the quarterfinals or the semifinals of a World Cup and that is a hurdle we want to clear."

(Yoshida vies for the ball with Belgium's Romelu Lukaku in their round of 16 match in Russia)

With Akira Nishino taking over from dismissed Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic just two months before the start of the tournament in Russia, Japan were given little hope of getting out of a tough group that included Colombia, Senegal and Poland.

But Nishino's side stunned a 10-man Colombia 2-1 in their opener, twice came from behind to hold Senegal to a 2-2 draw and lost 1-0 to Poland in their final match of the group phase.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage along with Colombia by virtue of having fewer yellow cards and thus more fair play points than Senegal.

On a positive note we were able to get out of the group stage, the players pulled together in a difficult situation with the pressure really on," said Yoshida.

"But, at the end of the day, we still only managed to win one match, so we want to clear that hurdle in Qatar and progress further than we ever have before."

Yoshida was paying a visit to Mizuno as a "brand ambassador" for the Japanese firm.

The video shows Yoshida's sprints, changes of direction and kicking being measured by special equipment so Mizuno can develop optimal boots for him to use at the next World Cup.