Japan National Team and the Samurai Spirit

Japan coach Moriyasu Hajime has added to the modern football curriculum a style of play for weaker teams that can win without having much possession of the ball.

The German team in the 1-2 reverse loss at the 2022 World Cup was the first "victim" of the Samurai Knights. In fact, not only Japan but other Asian teams find it very difficult to play proactively, holding the ball and putting pressure on the opponent's field.

Miracle named Japan

The joy of victory of Japanese national team players. Photo: Vietnamnet

To score a goal, most Asian teams must choose a defensive counter-attacking style of play. After the 0-1 loss to Costa Rica, coach Moriyasu Hajime and his team knew better than anyone else that they needed to get back on track when facing a much higher rated Spanish team. The Samurai Knights had prepared their physical strength and speed to face the “technicians” of the Spanish football field.

In fact, the Japanese beat Spain with just 17.7% possession, the lowest number ever in World Cup history. In the first half, the Japanese team had just 17% possession, making 89 passes compared to Spain's 529. The total for the entire match was 228 passes compared to Spain's 1,058. It was astonishing.

Who at the World Cup can come from behind to beat the two giants of world football, Germany and Spain, 2-1? It can only be Japan, with a tenacious perseverance worthy of Europe's respect. When Morata scored for Spain in the 11th minute, many fans of the Japanese team turned off their TVs because they didn't want to see the "disaster on the pitch", but coach Moriyasu Hajime had a completely different second half.

In fact, coach Luis Enrique has not yet announced his strongest lineup and his calculations for Spain's path are not without basis. Not to mention, the second goal of the Japanese players is causing controversy because the ball went out of bounds before Mitoma passed the ball to Tanaka to score.

FIFA has said that sensitive foul decisions will be automatically displayed in stadiums for spectators to see. This means that goal-line technology is also available in stadiums but hours after this match it was not seen.

Respected opponents

In an interview with La1 (Spain) after the match, coach Luis Enrique himself admitted that his players were overwhelmed by Japan's explosive play after being led 1-0 by Spain. At the same time, he said that the team from the land of the rising sun deserved to be at the top of Group E.

Coach Enrique said: "Spain went through 5 minutes of panic. As a result, Japan scored 2 goals against us. If they had taken advantage of their opportunities, they could have scored 2 more goals." Despite the loss, Spain still ranked 2nd thanks to a 7-0 win over Costa Rica in the opening match, while Germany sadly said goodbye to the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive time.

Tears fell from Japanese fans after the sweet 2-1 victory. Photo: NHK

Japan are only the third team in World Cup history to win two different matches in the same tournament after losing at half-time, after Brazil in 1938 and Germany in 1970. It is the first time since 2002 that Japan have won a World Cup group stage. They have also reached the last 16 of two consecutive World Cups for the first time. Three of Japan's last four World Cup goals have come from substitutes, giving coach Moriyasu Hajime credit.

After Australia, Japan is the second Asian team to qualify for the round of 16. Their opponent is Croatia, another European team that also plays with a technical style. Asian fans have the right to hope that the Samurai Knights will repeat the feat for the third time./.