Before the game against Spain, many people believed the chances of Japan advancing to the round of 16 to be slim to none. The doubter’s were having a field day, calling their win against Germany as simply a hoax, or chalking it up with the fact that Germany had simply had a bad game. Having come off of what some would say a disappointing loss against Costa Rica, nobody could have predicted what happened against Spain.
Before we get into the recap of quite possibly the greatest game in this World Cup yet, let us first talk about Japan’s strategy and how they tend to play the game of soccer.
Japan tends to run an aggressive, counterattacking playstyle filled with fast runs. Hajime Moriyasu, head coach for Japan, explained in an interview before the Costa Rica game that “when we move from attack to defense, we would like to do it quickly. However, we would like to hold the ball and control the game”. Japan may not always have possession of the ball but they sure make the most of it when they do have the ball. Now, knowing this information, what happened against Spain and Japan?
Similar to what happened against Germany, Japan conceded a headed goal from Alvaro Morata, striker for Spain. With the Japanese tactic of quick movement and speed, it was a much contested but mainly Spain dominant rest of the first half which ended 1-0, Spain leading. The second half was a completely different story.
Coming into the second half, Ritsu Doan, substitute that often comes on for Takefuso Kubo, was subbed onto the field. Doan has made quite a name for himself already in this World Cup, having scored the first goal in the incredible upset against Germany. Within the next five minutes, Japan had managed to pressure the Spanish goalkeeper, Unai Simon, to kick the ball away into a dangerous position, which Doan recovered and delivered a screamer of a shot from outside of the box. The ball then deflected off the keeper’s hand as it ricocheted into the goal. 1-1. The game had been tied.
While Spain was still mourning over their lead being broken, Japan orchestrated yet another counter attack. Doan then served a low driven pass across the goal and Kaoru Mitoma, midfielder for Japan, somehow saved the ball from going out of bounds and crossed it back into the middle with one chip which was then directly scored by Ao Tanaka. Japan had done the impossible. Or had they?
The referee called for VAR which spiraled into massive controversy as to whether or not this was truly a goal. The problem was, Doan’s pass was saved by Mitoma but it was very unclear whether or not the ball had gone out of bounds or not. There was confusion on the pitch and everything felt like it was at a stand still. Waiting for the referee’s whistle. After around five minutes of the referee looking at the footage of the supposed goal, he declared it a goal. And after thirty minutes of holding onto the lead, Japan had finally done the impossible.
An interview with Spanish coach Luis Enrique reveals that according to him, “there’s nothing to celebrate” for Spain. He continues, saying how “it was five minutes of complete lack of control, panic eve, and they scored twice and could have scored twice more”. This should serve as a warning for other teams to not underestimate the power of the Blue Samurai.
Japan is now ranked number one in their group, Group E with two wins and a loss. Spain is second, with one win, a tie, and a loss. Germany came in third which was very unexpected as they were very dominant in the 2020 European Cup. They also won one game, tied one, and lost one but was declared third because of goal differential. Costa Rica was last place with one win against Japan and two losses.
With this fixture, Japan officially goes into the round of 16 for the fourth time in their history in the World Cup and as first place in their group. They are set to go against a promising nation Croatia, led by Real Madrid legend Luka Modric. Japan has never gone past the round of 16 ever and this matchup could potentially go either way. As for Spain, they will be going against a young Morocco team, who have been electric in this World Cup.
It’s safe to say that nobody expected Japan to go as far as they have gone in the World Cup so far. With a squad full of young but determined players and no real veterans, it was a real mystery whether or not they were a true threat. But with these last couple of group stage matches, it shows how well this team has meshed together as a whole. With their next fixture against Croatia, Japan will have to bring their absolute best into the game in what will no doubt be an exciting matchup.
