Of all the unexpected lessons learned so far at this World Cup, perhaps the most important is that you forget about Japan at your peril.
Their next opponents, Croatia, beware – as the Blue Samurai have become the kings of Qatar’s comeback, and their inspired replacements have already claimed two huge casualties.
Japan’s brilliant comeback to beat Germany in their tournament opener had seemed like an anomalous outcome when they followed it up with a soft loss to Costa Rica that left them as underdogs to reach 16 last.
But, back at Khalifa International Stadium, also the scene of that stunning opening victory, Hajime Moriyasu’s side staged a brilliant repeat against Spain to become the unlikely winners of Group E.
They became only the third team in World Cup history to lose at half-time and come back to win two matches in the same tournament, after Brazil in 1938 and West Germany in 1970, and did it in memorable style.
Japan’s super submarines make a difference again
Japan’s substitutes had scored both goals against Germany and they played an important role here too – with an even more instantaneous impact.
“When it mattered, they made the effective changes,” former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley told 5 Live. “They took advantage of the opportunities they had.”
They certainly did. Ritsu Doan equalized within four minutes of coming off the bench in the game against Germany – this time just three minutes had passed since coming on at the start of the second half when he blasted off the edge from the surface.
Another substitute, Karou Mitoma, made his presence felt just 142 seconds later when he slid to hook Doan’s low cross through goal for Ao Tanaka to convert.
This time there was also more than a hint of controversy, with the ball appearing to go out of play before Mitoma reached it, and the fact that it took the intervention of the video assistant referee for the goal holding each other only added to the drama – and caused a lot of debate too.
“There is great technology for ‘big football’ today,” Moriyasu said afterwards. “If it had really come out, it would have been a goal kick.”
The Spanish fans were rather less impressed when VAR’s decision was announced, but it wouldn’t be the only time they stared in disbelief at the big screens around the stadium.
An updated group chart was displayed every time there was a goal in the Costa Rica game against Germany, and it was sometimes unclear who was in and who was out.
Japan fans were largely spared this tragedy, despite the fact that another Spanish goal would have put their own progress at risk.
Even more impressive than this quick response was the way they got back into their defensive form for the next 45 minutes or so to protect their lead, barely allowing the Spaniards to sniff despite only 18 per cent possession.
“All credit goes to Japan, they were absolutely outstanding,” added Bardsley.
“There’s a lot to be said for being disciplined and structured and understanding your game plan and executing it as best you can.
“This methodology and approach throughout the group stage got them all the way to the round of 16.
“It was strange that they lost to Costa Rica the way they did, but they put the ball in the back of the net when it mattered.”
And then ? A better result in the World Cup?
It was a memorable night for the thousands of Japanese fans in attendance, but they can dream of more daring moves to come.
Their side are in the last 16 of the World Cup for the fourth time but have never gone further and Moriyasu is determined that Croatia will not increase that stat when they meet on Monday.
“A big thank you to all our supporters, the Japanese people, for their support,” he added.
“Thanks to them, we were able to get through this difficult game. I’m happy that I was able to offer victory to everyone and, in terms of arrival, the new target for us is the last eight.
“The players are showing us a different and new vision of being able to fight on the world stage and we would like to set a new record of quarter-finals or better.”
It’s their next goal, and even if they fall behind against Croatia, you know they won’t give up.
