Tired but elated Japanese fans savored history in the making yesterday as the Blue Samurai stormed to the final 16 of the World Cup for the first time on foreign soil, defying pre-tournament expectations. Streets in Shibuya, the buzzing center of Japanese youth culture in Tokyo, were flooded by sleepless and euphoric fans following Japan’s 3-1 victory over Denmark, which kicked off at 3:30am.
Soccer fans congregated at cafes, bars and stadiums across the nation for the late-night viewings and were rewarded with a bold and assertive performance that turned many fans’ pre-tournament pessimism on its head.
“I am so happy because I didn’t expect them to win,” said Yoko Tamada, 26, a flight attendant who was one of about 300 fans watching at the “nakata.net cafe” in the hip Omotesando district near Shibuya.
PHOTO: AFP
“Hopefully, we can go to the last four, at least,” she said with an eye on the semi-final spot. “Or we can win the tournament.”
Two superb first-half strikes by midfielders Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo put Japan on a solid footing before substitute striker Shinji Okazaki made it 3-1 minutes before the final whistle to pulverize lingering Danish hopes.
The victory prompted a statement to the team from Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, currently in Toronto ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit.
“I sincerely congratulate this great accomplishment. All of Japan is encouraged by you and we are so proud,” he said.
“In the knockout round, I wish for your further successes as a unified team under coach [Takeshi] Okada,” he said.
Around 5,000 fans who gathered at Saitama Stadium outside Tokyo roared in delight as they saw their side score freely and defend bravely against an imposing Danish team, despite Japan only needing to draw.
Loud chants of “Nippon [Japan]! Nippon!” rang into the dawn skies, as they did in the streets of Shibuya, and no doubt echoed by fellow fans in all corners of Japan.
“I want them to draft a new chapter in Japanese history,” Miki Yoshioka, 21, said.
Goalscorer Honda’s former high school coach Mamoru Kawasaki joined in the praise for Japan’s bleach-blond goal ace.
“He played with a cool head. He kept his mental focus,” Kawasaki said after watching the game with his current team — who all wore their kit during the match — at Seiryo High School in central Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture.
Many who could not stay up to watch the game woke up to the surprise news.
“They won? It can’t be true!” said a woman in Tokyo’s Ginza district who gave her name as Ishigami, her eyes tearing up when she learned of the result.
“I’m so surprised, although I didn’t think they were hopeless,” said the woman in her 60s. “I hope they can keep up momentum and win more and more.”
Japan is usually more accustomed to venting frustration at a team that in recent years has lacked firepower and offered tame showings on the international stage, drawing particular fire in the build-up to the World Cup.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and an overhead kick on Friday as Portugal beat Poland 5-1 to guarantee a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. Ronaldo turned in a man-of-the-match performance in a blistering second half. Rafael Leao broke the deadlock with a fine header 14 minutes into the second half and then Ronaldo got his 134th international goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes later. Bruno Fernandes scored a stunning third from almost 30m out and three minutes later Ronaldo’s pass gave Pedro Neto the space to lash home a fourth from a tight angle. Ronaldo made it five — and 135
RSS