DOHA: In a place brimming with painful memories and etched with footballing scars, there were no more tears.Instead, it was sheer delight.Japan notched a stunning upset in a World Cup of upsets as they came from behind to beat giants Germany 2-1 on Wednesday (Nov 23).A first-half penalty from Ilkay Gundogan put the Germans ahead, before Japan substitute Ritsu Doan slammed home and Takuma Asano's late strike gave the Samurai Blue the victory.Almost three decades ago, Japan came within seconds of qualifying for their first World Cup, only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser to Iraq which sent South Korea through instead.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu was part of that team."I want to achieve our goals here in Doha, this time as a manager, and turn it into the 'Joy of Doha'," he said at the World Cup draw in April.And if his side play as they did on Wednesday, they could well do so.Prior to the opening whistle, Hansi Flick’s men placed their hands over their mouths during a team photo.All Germany players took part in the gesture in front of photographers on the pitch, after world soccer body FIFA had threatened seven European teams with sanctions if they wore the “OneLove” armband.“We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect.
Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard,” said the team’s official English twitter account.“It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable.
That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice.