This year’s World Cup held in Qatar was one of the most inspiring and surprising World Cup runs in soccer. Several teams that have not made it to the top 16 in several years surpassed the limitations and pressure and moved up.
One of the most inspiring teams that entered the World Cup this year was Japan. Japan has not had the best luck in the past few years in the World Cup. They have entered the main Round 16 only four times in the last seven World Cups (this included the World Cup of 2002, the World Cup of 2010, the World Cup of 2018, and the World Cup of 2022). Round 16 is usually the knockout round with heightened excitement in which the match is played to the finish unless extra time is added. The game must come to one winner, for them to continue advancing in the tournament. When Japan was placed into Group H, many people considered this to be the Group of Death- it has football favorites such as Germany, Spain, and Costa Rica. However, this year was the first time that an Asian team knocked out a high-ranking team, such as Germany, so early in the games.
“The game is not over until it is over.”
This year, Japan gave a stunning and surprising performance each time they played. In their first game against the European favorite Germany, Japan shocked everyone by scoring two goals in the second half. With immaculate passing and top-notch speed, Japan’s two strikers (Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano) were able to mark two goals which made all the difference in raising their spirits as well as the spirits of the fans. Although they narrowly lost to Costa Rica, they redeemed themselves with talent in their third game against Spain.
Japan’s game against Spain raised heads everywhere, for the talent and speed that this team maintained while focusing on teamwork. Spain was notably a crowd favorite to win the entire tournament, so when Japan first began playing against them, there was a lot of tension. Although Spain scored a very early one in the first half, Japan proved that the game is not over until it is over (basically it is not over until the clock runs out). In the 48 minutes of the second half, Doan impressed everyone with his footwork and awareness of the field. And in the 51’ minute of the second half, an astounding goal was made by Ao Tanaka, in which the ball was kicked out of the field by a Spanish player but saved by Kaoru Mitoma. In that save, Tanaka head-butted the ball into the net. The goal did raise some eyebrows as some were convinced that the ball was out of play. But due to VAR (video assistant referee), the overall consensus came to the fact that the goal line camera images showed the ball still in play. Although some cameras have shown misleading evidence, the main conclusion was that the ball was safe.
Although Japan may have failed to qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup (they unfortunately lost to Croatia in a penalty shoot-out of 3 to 1), Japan was able to show their heart and courage on the field and off. It was widely noted that both the Japanese fans and the Japanese team had impeccable cleanliness. It is a common cultural practice for them to leave places better than they found them, and at each game held at the stadium, the Japanese fans cleaned up any spare trash. This was not an act done just when the team won, but they did it each time they played, showing the courtesy of an entire country.
Although the team did not get to the quarterfinals like they wanted to, they inspired a new generation of football fans. They showed the amazing things that could happen with hard work, dedication, and heart. At the end of the game, that is what the fans will take home with them.