FIFA FOOTBALL WORLD CUP QATAR 2022 - NEWS BLOG - UPDATE 13

 JAPAN'S HISTORIC WIN AGAINST SPAIN IN FOOTBALL WORLD CUP QATAR 2022

"He did a great job" - Representative of the club with four players including Aoi Tanaka

Shuji Sawada, 64, the representative of Saginuma Soccer Club (SC) in Kawasaki City, where four players – Shuichi Gonda, Kou Itakura, Kaoru Mitoma and Ao Tanaka – played in the historic Japan victory over Spain – were in elementary school – watched the match with his family on his home TV. When Tanaka scored the winning goal, he said, "I was so happy that I almost cried."

Gonda, Itakura and Tanaka started the match, with Mitoma coming on as a substitute at the start of the second half. As in the first match against Germany, four players were on the pitch at the same time.

In the sixth minute of the second half, when the equaliser was equalised, Tanaka in the center of the box pushed in from Mitoma's turnover, which became the final goal. The two are childhood friends who were one grade apart and were in the club at the same time. "The two players who played hard in Saginuma did a great job against Spain, one of the strongest countries in the world," he said.

In their next match, Japan will face Croatia for their first place in the last eight. He encouraged his former students, saying, "I hope that you will do your best so that you will not regret it and give Japan even more impression."

'The most numbing match' Explosion of joy in Osaka after Japan advances to World Cup Final Tournament

They qualified for the final tournament with a big gold star. The archipelago was filled with excitement in the early morning when Japan came from behind to beat the mighty Spain 2-1 at the World Cup in Qatar.

At the Umeda Burg 7 movie theater in Kita-ku, Osaka, public viewing (PV) was held at two theaters on the 2nd, and about 190 fans packed in. The team kicked off at 4 a.m. to loud applause. There were cheers every time the players approached Spain's goal, but when they conceded the opener, they sighed "Ahh Ryuki Kitayama (28), an office worker who rushed by car from Otsu City, stared at the screen, saying, "As expected, Spain has been dominating the ball, but the coordination is getting better, so I hope we can catch up in the second half."

Immediately after the start of the second half, when DOAN Ritsu scored the equaliser, the crowd was very excited, saying "We can go" and "We can come back". In addition, TANAKA Ao pushed the ball back by MITOMA Kaoru into the goal and succeeded in turning the game around, causing a burst of applause. After overcoming the final whistle, the final whistle blew, and the fans jumped up and burst into joy.

Kento Okada (22) and Ryo Toriya (21), university students from Osaka City, who came by the last train and spent time at an izakaya, said, "To be honest, I thought it was tough, but I was full of desire to support them. I want them to do their best to reach the last eight."

Ayane Fukumori (24), an office worker from Osaka City, said, "I am most happy that I was able to share this moment with the fans. I will do my best to support the final tournament."

After Japan's victory, fans gathered at the Ebisu Bridge over the Dotonbori River in Minami, a downtown area of Osaka City, beating taiko drums and repeating the "Nippon" call, but there were no noticeable troubles or accidents.

Mr. Takahiko Ichiki (41) = current Takatsuki City Tenth Junior High School Teacher = who served as an advisor at the soccer club to which Morita Hidemasa belonged when he was in junior high school, praised "I must have been disappointed that I could not play in the first match against Germany, but this time he stood on the pitch and contributed to the victory against Spain." I want them to take advantage of their strength to win the ball in a good position."

JAPAN'S FOOTBALL TEAM PLAYERS REJOICING AFTER THEIR HISTORIC WIN AGAINST SPAIN IN WORLD CUP QATAR 2022

World Cup-related stocks rise again after Japan advancing to final Tournament, including English-style pubs where you can watch the game

World Cup-related stocks rose again on the Tokyo stock market on Thursday after Japan came from behind to beat Spain to advance to the final tournament at the World Cup Qatar.

On the Tokyo stock market on the 2nd, the Nikkei Stock Average fell back, and the decline from the previous day's closing price temporarily exceeded 500 yen. As the U.S. stock market was weak the previous day, a wide range of stocks in Japan were sold off.

However, stocks that soared the day after Japan beat Germany in their first World Cup match rose again with the win over Spain. HUB, which operates the British-style pub "HUB" where you can watch live matches, temporarily rose 100 yen (14.9%) from the previous day's closing price to 769 yen.

CyberAgent, which broadcasts all 64 World Cup matches on the Internet TV "ABEMA" and has been increasing the number of viewers, temporarily rose 91 yen (7.3%) to 1,330 yen. Mizuno, which sells soccer equipment, also rose 150 yen (5.3%) to 2,994 yen at one point. Xebio Holdings, which sells Japan national team jerseys, also rose.

"The miracle is thanks to the reversal bullet at that time" Loud cheers at Takuma Asano's brother's bar

The Japan of Group E of the first round of the World Cup Qatar defeated Spain 2-1 in the early morning of the 2nd. At a bar in Yokkaichi City run by Masateru (31), the older brother of forward ASANO Takuma from Komono Town, Mie Prefecture, about 15 regular customers gathered to cheer.

"Asano! Asano!" ――。 In the 17th minute of the second half, Asano came on in place of forward MAEDA Daizen and clapped his hands and cheered. "We can go, Takuma!" he shouted, waiting for the next goal against Germany.

Yuto Hiraga, a 27-year-old office worker from Yokkaichi City, took paid leave to watch the games. I was going to go home and sleep after the game, but "I couldn't sleep anymore. The miracle happened again in this match thanks to Asano's comeback at that time." Rio Ichikawa, a 31-year-old housewife from Suzuka City, reflected, "It was a great match, and Asano kept attacking, so I think it had a positive impact on the team."

Immediately after the match, Masaki made a video call with Asano's parents, who were watching the match. To his parents, who were happy that he had won, Masaki replied with a smile, "It was good." Masaki said, "I think he contributed in defence as well, so I hope he will score in the next match."

Ritsu Doan scored again Middle who led the comeback "Praise me today" World Cup

The Japan of Group E of the first round of the World Cup Qatar defeated Spain 2-1 in their final match of the first round on 1 (early morning of Japan hours). Japan finished top of the table with six points with two wins and one loss, and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive time.

The more adversity you face, the more powerful you are. Ritsu Doan, who came on as a substitute in the second half, paved the way for another comeback. "We haven't rewritten history yet, but we've overcome a big obstacle." I told him to chew on joy with a calm expression.

It was a remarkable blow. Chasing a goal, he moved on the right wing early in the second half and scored the result in three minutes. His teammates pressed in tandem from the front line, and Junya Ito competed with the opposing defenders and the ball spilled in front of him.

Right in front of the penalty area. It is an angle that he is proud of, "It would be dangerous to let Doan Ritsu go free there." With a light touch, he got into the shooting position, swung his dominant left foot as hard as he could, flicked off the goalkeeper's hands and stabbed it into the top right corner of the goal. "I didn't go to the corners that much and I thought [the opponents] were even better goalkeepers." It tore up the usual Doan Festival.

Japan conceded the lead in the 11th minute of the first half and kept the ball almost in possession of the ball. Even so, Doan felt that "the opponent had a strong second half, so it was a good chance." He had his first chance and three minutes later, he sent in a right-footed cross from the right flank. "It was a perfect start to the game with a perfect turnaround in the first 20 minutes," he said.

Against Germany, they were introduced in the second half chasing one goal and scored in just four minutes. However, since it was a goal scored by pushing a spilled ball, "Some people said it was just a mess (goal), and I thought it was noisy, so I hope everyone will praise me today." After losing the second match against Costa Rica without showing, he said, "I didn't want to do anything, I wanted to help the team win."

"If I get through this group, I think people will believe in the victory that I have been saying before the tournament.

They were one win away from reaching the team's goal of reaching the last eight for the first time, but for Doan, it was only a passing point. The 24-year-old is looking further than the "new landscape."