Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 2 (Liu Xingchen) At the Khalifa International Stadium, the Japanese team defeated Spain and once again became the "Light of Asia".
In the 94th minute of the game, the Japanese team had a 1-goal lead.
Player Ito Junya is still frantically pressing the Spanish defender, eager to break the ball.
This is the epitome of the performance of the Japanese team throughout the game.
At the World Cup in Qatar, Group E was dubbed the "Group of Death".
One can imagine how difficult it is for the Japanese team to break through, but they did it early this morning.
The picture shows the moment when a Japanese player (blue on the right) scores a goal
light of asia
In the last round of the group stage against the "Matador Legion", the outside world has almost written the script for the defeat of the Asian powerhouse before the game.
But the Japanese team seems to have an exclusive plot in Qatar.
Facing the German team in the first game, they conceded a goal first, and scored 2 goals in 5 minutes in the second half to take away the victory.
In the game early this morning, the Japanese team has been the one behind since the 12th minute of the game, and their situation was even more passive in the first half.
Changing sides to fight again, the Japanese team coach Moriyasu waved his hand, and Don Anru and Sanzao Kaoru came off the bench.
This adjustment completely reversed the trend of the game.
The picture shows the Japanese team player (blue) breaking through with the ball
In the 48th minute, the Japanese team seized the Spanish team's defensive error, and Tang Anlu shot successfully from outside the penalty area.
Two minutes later, Don Anru sent an assist, and Tanaka Bizhong Lu hit the ball into the goal after receiving a cross pass.
In 3 minutes, they turned things around.
In the end, the score of 2:1 was maintained until the end of the game, and the Japanese team advanced to the round of 16 as the group leader.
Having defeated two World Cup champion teams in a row, the gold content of the Japanese team's group qualification is self-evident.
When the honorary title of "Light of Asia" was given to Japanese football again, the story behind it is a long story.
turn the past into wealth
"There is no pressure, only anticipation. If you have to talk about pressure, it is whether the players can give full play to their usual strength and play a game without regrets. I believe it will happen when it is ripe." At the press conference before the match against Spain, Moriyasu said the same Said.
Thinking about it carefully, the four words "it will come when conditions are ripe" happen to be the best summary of the development of Japanese football in the past few decades.
The picture shows players from both sides competing for a header
After an unexpected loss to Costa Rica in the group stage and missed the advance, the Japanese team came under pressure from domestic public opinion.
Mori Bao has always said that the past cannot be changed, and the past should be turned into wealth.
The 54-year-old said earlier that Japanese football will continue to learn from the best teams in the world.
And these two sentences are also the football philosophy that the Japanese team has insisted on for many years.
Dial the memory back to the end of the last century.
On October 28, 1993, the final round of the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, the match between Japan and Iraq was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
At that time, as long as the Japanese team won, they could enter the World Cup finals for the first time.
The picture shows the scene of the game
However, at the last moment, the opponent scored an absolute goal. That heart-wrenching game was called the "Doha tragedy" of Japanese football.
After the game, Mori Hoichi, wearing the No. 17 jersey, also slumped on the court.
It was after that that Japanese football began to usher in a transformation.
Also in 1993, the opening of the J-League marked the entry of Japanese football into an era of professionalization.
Four years later, they qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time.
According to statistics, when the Japanese team reached the top 16 in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, 8 players in the team had already played in the European League.
The picture shows the Japanese team player (blue) shooting
In the roster of the Japanese team going to Qatar, players in Europe have been able to support two complete lineups.
Kubo Kenhide, Osako Yuya, Don Anryu and others are even more famous.
So many overseas players have upgraded the Japanese team's style of play and made other Asian teams look enviously.
Football Dreams of Japanese Teenagers
Calculating carefully, 29 years have passed since the "Doha tragedy".
As a witness back then, after defeating the Spanish team in the early hours of this morning, Mori Hoichi seemed very calm.
Perhaps his memory has returned to that night in Doha 29 years ago.
In the perception of many people, the Japanese team is a strong Asian team. Now they can overthrow the first-class strong team in the World Cup. How did they do it?
The dreams and love of children may be the most important reason why Japanese football has become strong.
The picture shows the Japanese team player (blue) with the ball
As early as 1978, football was introduced into the physical education classes of many schools in Japan.
In 1981, the cartoon "Captain Tsubasa" became popular in Japan, and many teenagers had a dream about football in their hearts.
After years of cultivating youth football, Japanese football has finally paid off.
In Japan's domestic youth training system, teenagers have to go through multiple echelons of selection. In the competition of survival of the fittest, more talented teenagers can become professional football players.
From 1981 to 1988, in seven years, the number of football players registered in Japanese primary schools jumped from 110,000 to 240,000.
When it comes to youth football matches, the Japanese High School Football National League is a typical representative.
On January 10, 2022, the final of the Japanese High School Football National League was held. More than 42,000 spectators witnessed the birth of the champion on the spot.
The picture shows the Japanese team player (blue) shooting
Now this national football tournament for high school students in Japan has been held for the 101st time.
In the week of the finals, the 48 teams that have passed the test will compete for the national championship in the stadium that has hosted the World Cup.
In the eyes of Japanese grassroots coaches, this game can be regarded as a rite of passage for teenagers.
The Japan High School Football National League has trained a series of well-known players for the Japanese national team, including Keisuke Honda, Shinji Okazaki, and Hidetoshi Nakata.
In other words, the competition on this stage basically represents the highest level of Japanese youth football.
When children and teenagers fight for their dreams on the green field, tens of thousands of fans pay attention to it, and the rapid development of Japanese football is displayed.
Maybe there are no excellent hardware facilities in the training, but the teenagers who have an almost crazy love for football always like to give everything on the green field, so that youth will not leave regrets.
The picture shows the scene of the game
When announcing the squad for this World Cup, Morihoichi conveyed the team's goal to the outside world: break into the quarter-finals and rewrite history.
"The goal of Japanese football is to win the World Cup by 2050. I hope that while we strive for victory and break through the group tomorrow, we will also explore how we should work hard in the future." Mori Yasuichi said before the match against Spain, impressive.
But now, they want to keep going to fulfill the goal of the trip to Qatar.
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