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Japan clean up Group E, their fans clean up the stadiums

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2022

Reuters

Dozens of Japan fans have been sticking around after the final whistle at World Cup matches to help with the cleanup.

After Japan beat Spain 2-1 on Thursday (December 1), a group of Japan supporters hung around to collect trash left around the stands of the Khalifa International Stadium.
 

The courteous fans filled blue plastic bags with discarded cups, plastic bottles, and wrappers while most fans were already well on their way home into early Friday (December 2) morning.

Scores of Japan fans came to the match armed with clear blue bags which have become a symbol at the Qatar World Cup as fans have taken notice of their tidy ways.

One fan who took part in the clean up, Atsushi Nomura, said it was just common sense for people to pick up after themselves.

“If I don’t feel like looking at trash, I just pick it up. It’s faster that way. If we just wait for others to do it, nobody will do it. So, it’s faster that we just do it ourselves. That’s it. It’s simply because we like things to be tidy and clean,” Nomura said.

Another participant, Naoya Endo, said tidiness is instilled at a young age and likened it to a Japanese proverb.

“There’s a proverb (in Japan) that you leave things cleaner than you found them when you arrived. That’s to say we make the space tidier and cleaner before we leave, and that’s something we were taught by our parents when we were kids,” Endo said.

Japan fan carrys rubbish in a plastic bag as he cleans the stands after the match

Reuters

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How Japan – and the ball sensor – knocked mighty Germany out of World Cup

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2022

The positional sensor in the Al Rihla ball provided the biggest shock of the 2022 World Cup so far, knocking Germany out of the tournament on Friday, Thai time.

As Japan began wildly celebrating their strike to go 2-1 up against Spain, the referee ruled the ball had gone out of play before the final pass and disallowed the goal.

The video assistant referee (VAR) then took another look, and calculated a tiny fraction of the ball had stayed in play.

It was enough to eliminate four-time winners Germany, who were playing Costa Rica in Group E’s other fixture.

Going into last night’s matches, all four teams in Group E were still in the race to qualify for the knockout stage.

But Japan needed a win against favourites Spain to guarantee their berth in the round of 16.

Alvaro Morata headed Spain into the lead in the 11th minute, and the future was looking bleak for Japan at half-time.

The Blue Samurai returned after the break knowing that they needed a win since Germany were 1-0 up against Costa Rica.

Japan’s Ritsu Doan unleashed a long-range strike to equalise in the 48th minute.

Then Kaoru Mitoma chased a ball to the byline before cutting it back for Ao Tanaka to make it 2-1. Referee Victor Gomes quickly interrupted Japan’s celebrations to rule the ball had gone out of play before the goal.

However, VAR overturned his decision after the positional sensor in the Al Rihla ball showed it had stayed within the field of play.

According to Fifa rules, the ball is only out of play when every part crosses the line.

In other words, if a line is drawn straight up from the byline, and that line intersects with any part of the ball, the ball is still in play.

Fifa also offered an explanation after the game, saying the “curvature of the ball” kept it in play.

The goal was crucial, as Japan needed a win to qualify since Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2.

Japan finished top of Group E and will face Croatia in the round of 16, while second-place Spain will play Morocco.

Related stories

• Germany crash out of World Cup despite 4-2 win over Costa Rica
• Japan roar back again to beat Spain and advance to last 16
• Argentina outclass Poland despite Messi penalty miss to advance

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Germany crash out of World Cup despite 4-2 win over Costa Rica

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2022

Reuters

Four-time champions Germany sensationally crashed out of the World Cup despite a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in their last Group E match on Thursday (December 1), tumbling out at the first hurdle for the second consecutive time.

Germany finished third in the standings, behind Spain on goal difference, with Japan top following their 2-1 win over the Spaniards.
 

The result left Japan facing Croatia in the last 16 while Spain will face Morocco.

On a night of unrelenting drama in the desert near Doha, the Germans struck first with Serge Gnabry in the 10th minute but saw the Central Americans score twice with Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Pablo Vargas before a Kai Havertz brace put them back in front.

Fellow substitute Niclas Fuellkrug added a fourth in stoppage time but it could do nothing to prevent their elimination as Spain advanced with a superior goal difference.

It was the first time in their illustrious World Cup history that Germany had failed to win any of their first two group matches and despite bagging a win on their last attempt, they will be departing Qatar with dropped heads.

They were teetering on the brink of elimination going into the game after losing their opening group match to Japan and then snatching a 1-1 draw against Spain.

Needing only victory to avoid a repeat of their shock 2018 World Cup first round exit, Germany, with seven Bayern Munich players in their line-up, charged forward from the start in search of an early goal to settle their nerves.

Jamal Musiala cut from left into the box and tested keeper Keylor Navas with a low drive in the second minute.

Germany

It was one-way traffic initially and unmarked Thomas Mueller should have done much better when he was picked out by Joshua Kimmich but could not keep his header on target.

Gnabry, however, scored with his glancing header in the 10th minute to put the four-time champions in front.

Costa Rica, who required at least a point to have a chance to progress, rarely crossed into the German half, with only about 25% possession in the first 45 minutes.

Germany were eager to make amends for their bad tournament start with teenager Musiala repeatedly taking on the entire Costa Rican defence.

The chances kept coming but the Germans, as in the game against Japan, struggled to convert them.

They were almost punished when Keysher Fuller benefitted from a double defensive blunder but his shot was tipped over the bar by keeper Manuel Neuer, who became a World Cup record holder for goalkeepers with his 19th appearance.

With the group standings flashing on the big screen of the Al Bayt stadium, Germany grew nervous with Musiala twice hitting the post early in the second half.

Neuer, however, could do nothing 13 minutes after the restart when Tejeda thundered the ball past him on the rebound after he had first saved a Kendall Waston header.

Vargas then bungled the ball over the line in the 70th minute to put them in front.

Substitute Havertz scored twice in 12 minutes and Fuellkrug added another in stoppage time but ultimately it was too little too late with Spain advancing with a superior goal difference.

Germany
 

Reuters

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Japan roar back again to beat Spain and advance to last 16

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2022

Reuters

Japan staged their second stunning turnaround of the World Cup when they beat 2010 champions Spain 2-1 on Thursday (December 1) with two quick-fire goals and advanced to the last 16 along with their beaten opponents.

Going into the halftime break 1-0 down and on course for an early World Cup exit, Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu reorganised his side to give them more attacking bite and within six minutes the Samurai Blue were ahead.

Ritsu Doan, one of the substitutes, hammered in a shot from the edge of the box in the 48th minute that Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon – whose poor clearance had created the danger – could not keep out.

Three minutes later, Ao Tanaka scored from close range after the other halftime sub Kaoru Mitoma cut the ball back from the byline.

The VAR system took several minutes to confirm the ball had not gone out before Mitoma’s touch, sparking wild celebrations by Japan and their fans when the verdict came in.

Spain had looked in total control in the first half but were suddenly clinging to their chance of staying in the World Cup as Costa Rica and Germany battled out their own drama in the other Group E match.

JapanJapan
 

Alvaro Morata had put the Spaniards ahead when he scored his third goal in three games in Qatar, rising high above Japan’s defence to power a header past goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda in the 11th minute after a cross by Cesar Azpilicueta.

The breathtaking 2-1 win for Japan – who also beat Germany 2-1 after going behind in their opening match of the tournament – meant they topped Group E, followed by Spain in second who finished ahead of third-placed Germany only on goal difference.

Japan will face Croatia in the last 16 while Spain will meet Morocco.

Spain
 

Reuters