As of November 24, 2022 – One can only imagine the cheers resounding all around the globe as Japan scored two late goals into their game with Germany. Their opening match for the World Cup 2022 stunned the Germans as well as themselves with the unexpected win and the late overwhelming strike near the end of the match.
The Khalifa International Stadium saw the fans of the Japan Team joyous, incredulous and delighted beyond belief just outside of the game’s venue. There was a momentary silence after Takuma Asano sunk in the second goal against Germany. It was as if everyone didn’t breathe and then, boom, the celebration, the relief, the astounding, reverberating glee filled the stadium as well as all the devices tuned into and live streaming the event around the world.
As if mirroring how the match between Saudi Arabia and Argentina was — Germany had taken the lead in the 33rd minute when İlkay Gündoğan netted a penalty to cap a dominant performance. But after that, Germany was unable to strike again with several failed opportunities and was made to pay by two second-half goals in the space of eight minutes — these were from Ritsu Doan (75′) and Asano (83′).
Japan is relatively new to the World Cup. They debuted in 1998 but were unable to go past the first round. When Japan co-hosted the World Cup with South Korea back in 2002, they were finally able to leap through the first round — as well as in the World Cup tourneys in 2010 and 2018. The recent win against Germany — 2014’s World Cup champion — will go down as one of Japan’s best matches in its history.
Straight from the Fans
The folks who travelled to Qatar from their home country and other parts of the world got their money’s worth with Japan’s amazing win.
Kayde, a 13-year-old Japanese fan, “I was jumping. I was screaming. I fell and hurt myself, but I don’t care,” expressed the sentiments of every Japan team fan.
Along with his father, Takashi, they traveled from the United States to Qatar to support the national team of their country of birth. Takashi added,“It was unbelievable. When Japan scored the first goal, we were anxious because the Germans always come back stronger – but they didn’t. “When the added time was shown on the screen, I set a timer on my phone and kept staring at it until the referee blew his whistle.”
Knichi, went to Qatar on his own and needed a moment for the stunning results to finally sink in. “Maybe I will go to the FIFA Fan Festival and find some Japanese fans to celebrate with, but I need a breather. My heart is going up and down. If you asked me for a prediction before the match, I would have said Japan will lose. At best, a draw. A win? Not happening.”
Yet another Japan Team fan, Kosuke exclaimed, “They will be watching, partying and then waiting for tomorrow to be announced as a day off, just like Saudi Arabia,” he said in a nod to the Saudi government’s decision to declare Wednesday a public holiday after their upset win over Argentina.
Citizens of Japan calling for a public holiday for the win!
Impromptu celebrations, dancing on the streets, partying and simply sheer outright cheering, joyful and absolutely delighted folks in Japan are now clamoring for the government to declare a public holiday to celebrate Japan’s win against Germany.
This request just cited what Saudi Arabia recently decided to declare a public holiday to mark their national team beating Argentina which also mirrors the same score that Japan had — 2-1 victory.
So far, Prime Minister Kishida told reporters the following day: “I watched the match on TV … it was a wonderful victory. I hope they can keep going and make it to the knockout stages.” There is still yet a declaration of a public holiday though as of press time.
Japan’s next match will be with Costa Rica on Sunday, the 27th of November. Keep the date open and don’t miss it!
The World Cup is turning up to become one of the most thrilling spectacles in history. The first surprise was Saudi Arabia and now Japan. Hopefully, this will be a trend. It’s a refreshing turn of events and awestruck gameplay. It’s almost as if the unpleasant underbelly of the Qatar World Cup is almost forgotten. What’s your take on this, folks? Ain’t life grand that Japan tucked in a great game? Makes me consider if it’s all right to assert an Asian-wide holiday if they get the World Cup by the 18th of December. Hope to hear from you soon, always look forward to your comments. Cheers!
