Japan stunned Germany at the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 result for their best win on the FIFA stage. Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored off the bench to complete a shock result.
Ilkay Gundogan had given Die Mannschaft the lead at the Khalifa International Stadium on 33 minutes. The Manchester City midfielder confidently sent his penalty straight down the middle after Shuichi Gonda pushed David Raum over. But Germany would not build on it.
Gonda played his part in ensuring Germany could not put the Group E match to bed in the first half. The goalkeeper denied Joshua Kimmich twice as Gundogan and Antonio Rudiger both missed the target. Kai Havertz did put the ball in the net but from an offside position.
Japan stun the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with their first ever win over Germany
Celtic forward Daizen Maeda would also score for Japan before the break only to see the offside flag go up. His effort was a sign of what was to come for Germany despite the four-time champion’s dominance. Doan and Asano came off the bench and flipped the script.
As Japan applied pressure entering the closing stages, Doan gave the Samurai Blue their reward by equalising against Germany. The SC Freiburg forward – dubbed the ‘Japanese Messi’ for his silky runs – stayed alert in the box to lash home after a Manuel Neuer save.
No German player noticed the 24-year-old creep into the heart of the area in anticipation of a chance. Then Ko Itakura caught the Mannschaft defenders napping again as he freed Asano. The forward still had lots to do but darted into the box and scored at a tight angle.
Borussia Monchengladbach’s Itakura spotted Niklas Sule of Borussia Dortmund sitting in deeper than Germany’s other defenders as he stood over an 83rd minute free-kick. Asano was alert to the chance and shrugged off Nico Schlotterbeck before firing high over Neuer.
The Group E affair in Doha was a shock for the German system having never previously lost to Japan. Die Mannschaft had won two and drawn two of their previous four games across all competitions. Qatar 2022 threw up the first competitive meeting between the nations.
Japan have now won six of their 21 games at the World Cup after beating Germany
Beating Germany at Qatar 2022 also produced just Japan’s sixth win at a World Cup across their seven appearances. The Samurai Blue qualified for the first time for France 1998 and have featured at each edition since. They also reached the last 16 in 2002, 2010 and 2018.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu will hope to end Japan’s run of reaching the knockout stages at alternative tournaments now. He will also hope to at least replicate their paths into the Round of 16 in 2002 and 2010 when the Samurai Blue won two games at the same edition.
Japan failed to take any points on their World Cup debut at France 1998 but won twice in 2002 as a co-host with South Korea. Zero wins would follow at Germany 2006 before two at South Africa 2010. Japan won zero times again at Brazil 2014 before one at Russia 2018.
Moriyasu has now at least ended Japan’s run of failing to win fixtures at alternative World Cups by beating Germany. So, with that in mind, HITC Football has taken a look into what have been the Samurai Blue’s best results on the FIFA stage before edging Die Mannschaft.
Japan beat Russia for their first win at a World Cup as a co-host in 2002
Japan finally opened their World Cup account by beating Russia in their second Group H tie in 2002. The Samurai Blue had endured three-straight defeats at France 1998 to Argentina, Croatia and Jamaica over Group H. They also started in 2002 with a 2-2 draw with Belgium.
A maiden win on the FIFA stage finally arrived as the co-hosts, though. Junichi Inamoto sent his nation wild on 50 minutes when the midfielder, then with Arsenal, slotted home the only goal. Hidetoshi Nakata also went close to adding a second but crashed a shot into the bar.
Japan were simply too much for Russia with their electric energy and football to match. It almost paid off early on when Inamoto flashed a shot narrowly wide of the post after five minutes, too. Viktor Onopko also had to rush out to stop Inamoto freeing Takayuki Suzuki.
The Samurai Blue won their opening game for the first time in 2010
After losing to Argentina in 1998, Australia in 2006 and drawing with Belgium in 2002, the 2010 World Cup finally saw Japan win their opening game. The Samurai Blue started off in South Africa by taking a 1-0 result against Cameroon at Bloemfontein’s Free State Stadium.
Neither team arrived in South Africa on the back of great form and both struggled to make much happen. But Keisuke Honda would spark the game into some life on 39 minutes. The midfielder met Dalsuke Matsui’s delivery at the back post as it sailed over Stephane Mbia.
Souleymanou Hamidou did well to stop Makoto Hasebe from doubling Japan’s advantage as Cameroon continued to stutter. Les Lions Indomptables eventually found a gear when Mbia tried his luck from 25 yards out. But it was too little too late to prevent Japan’s win.
Two free-kicks fired Japan into the knockout stages in South Africa
Japan did not get back-to-back wins at a World Cup like in 2002 against Russia and Tunisia at the 2010 edition. After beating Cameroon, the Samurai Blue fell to a 1-0 loss against the Netherlands – who lost to Spain in the final. But Japan would follow Oranje into the last 16.
A 3-1 win over Denmark booked Japan’s place in the knockout stages before losing 5-3 on penalties to Paraguay. Honda was the hero again as he broke the deadlock in just the 17th minute at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. Yasuhito Endo doubled Japan’s lead.
Both Honda and Endo lashed home first-half free-kicks to stretch the Samurai Blue’s lead over Denmark. The former riffled his early effort into the far corner of Thomas Sorensen’s net. Endo then curled his delightful free-kick around the Rod-Hvide’s wall after half-hour.
Japan oozed confidence as they took the tie to Denmark, which sparked both nations into life during the early exchanges. Honda’s goal would then gave the Rod-Hvide something to think about before Endo’s piece of quality. Endo almost scored another in the second half.
Endo missing another free-kick kept Denmark in the tie before Christian Eriksen’s shot flew just over and Soren Larson smacked the bar. Jon Dahl Tomasson then made amends for his early misses on 81 minutes. But it only took Shinji Okazaki six minutes to put Japan 3-1 up.
Now, Japan have the headline win in their World Cup history books by beating Germany 2-1 at Qatar 2022, though. It also came against their own form on the FIFA stage, having only won one of their prior eight ties. They edged Colombia 2-1 in Group H during Russia 2018.
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