The Japanese 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 much possession of the ball.

The German team in the 1-2 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 a proactive style of 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 have to choose a defensive counter-attacking style of play. After the 0-1 loss to Costa Rica, coach Moriyasu Hajime and his team know better than anyone else that they need to get back on track when facing a much higher rated Spanish team. The Samurai Knights have 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 figure 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 the TV because they did not want to witness the "disaster on the pitch", but coach Moriyasu Hajime had a completely transformed second half.

In fact, coach Luis Enrique has not yet announced the 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 chances, they could have scored 2 more goals." Despite the loss, Spain still finished 2nd thanks to a 7-0 win over Costa Rica in the opening day, 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 games in the same tournament after losing in the first half, 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 for the first time in two consecutive World Cups. 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 with a technical style of play. Asian fans have the right to hope that the Samurai Knights will repeat the feat for the third time./.