On Thursday, Japan pulled off their second incredible comeback of the World Cup to defeat 2010 champions Spain 2-1 and advance to the round of 16, eliminating Germany in the process. It was one of the best nights for the Samurai Blue.
At halftime, Japan, facing an early exit from the World Cup, set up a match with Croatia, the 2018 tournament’s losing finalist, while Spain needed to defeat Germany on the strength of goal differential. Morocco is their current opponent.
Japan’s comeback was based on coach Hajime Moriyasu’s transformation of his team at halftime, when they were trailing 1-0.
Ritsu Doan entered the game after only three minutes and fired a shot from the edge of the box that Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon could not stop. Simon’s poor clearance had originally led to the danger.
Ao Tanaka scored from close range in the 51st minute, bundling the ball in after the other halftime substitute Kaoru Mitoma cut the ball back from the byline, leaving the noisy Japanese travelling supporters barely able to catch their breath.
It took the VAR system a while to determine that the ball had not already left the field before Mitoma’s touch. Replays appeared to show that only a small portion of the ball had over the goal line, and the decision provoked raucous celebrations akin to those seen during Japan’s 2-1 comeback victory over Germany last week.
According to Moriyasu, whose squad fell to Costa Rica in their second game in Qatar, ‘We played against Spain, one of the top teams in the world, and we knew before the game that this was going to be very tough and challenging, and indeed it was.’
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