In the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Japan created an upset by beating Germany 2-1, and unfortunately, at the center of the surprise, there were 'German' Japanese players.
Doan Ritz and Takuma Asano, who score goals respectively, play for Freiburg and Bochum in the German professional football Bundesliga, respectively.
Including the two players, 8 of the 26 players in the Japanese national team play in the German league.
Defender Go Itakura plays for Monchengladbach and Maya Yoshida plays for Schalke 04.
In addition, Hiroki Ito and Wataru Endo play for Stuttgart, Daichi Kamada for Frankfurt, and Ao Tanaka for Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Japan, which had the best record in the World Cup by advancing to the round of 16, made 19 of the 26 players in the final roster ahead of this tournament.
(Photo = Yonhap News)