JAPAN’S NATIONAL TEAM IS GREETED AS A HERO AFTER THEIR HOMECOMING OF THE 2022 WORLD CUP

JAPAN’S NATIONAL TEAM IS GREETED AS A HERO AFTER THEIR HOMECOMING OF THE 2022 WORLD CUP

Japan’s national soccer team returned home on Wednesday having surprised the world with group-stage wins over Germany and Spain in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, eventually exiting in the round of 16 on penalties to Croatia. Samurai Blue manager Hajime Moriyasu and captain Maya Yoshida, alongside other players such as Ritsu Doan and Junya Ito, were welcomed back by a huge crowd at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture. Some of Japan’s Europe-based players have returned to their clubs. “With individual skills and team effort, our players proved we can be competitive on the global stage,” Moriyasu told reporters at a news conference at a nearby hotel. Japan advanced to the round of 16 at consecutive World Cups for the first time but fell short of reaching their first quarterfinal. Defying pre-tournament odds, Japan topped a tough Group E followed by Spain, while Germany and Costa Rica were eliminated. World netizens honored the Japanese, from entertaining and never giving up games, and how the Japanese fans behaved as well as collecting garbage at the stadium after the match. Japan’s highest achievement so far in the World Cup is to penetrate the top 16. We wait for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, whether the Japanese national team will speak out more strongly.

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