World Cup 2022: Why are people talking about Japan?
- Published
Japan are playing in their seventh World Cup and are in Group E alongside Germany, Costa Rica and Spain. Their excited fans have turned up in Qatar in their numbers and are certainly hoping for a PURR-fect run of matches!
Japan got their campaign off to a magical start against Germany. They were losing 1-0, but two late goals in the second half from substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano helped them seal a stunning comeback!
In fact, their 2-1 victory over the four-time World Cup winners was the first time that Japan had ever beaten Germany in their history - leading to huge celebrations from both players and fans.
However, their fans had another important job to do too. Come full-time, football stands are usually littered with used food wrappers and drinks cups, left behind for someone else to clean up. But not when Japan's fans are involved!
They've been surprising everyone by staying behind after the full-time whistle to clean up! In Japan, cleanliness is a part of the culture and is taught from early childhood.
It's not only the fans that have demonstrated the importance of good manners and habits. This is a picture which Fifa posted on social media showing the Japan dressing room AFTER the match. The team had left it spotless!
They'd also left behind some paper origami cranes which symbolise good fortune and happiness in Japanese culture. They added a little note too in Japanese and Arabic which read "thank you". Japan face 2010 champions Spain in their next match on Sunday 27 November.