Japan make a surprise by beating German 2-1 in group E World Cup 2022 at the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Wednesday (11/23) WIB evening.
Japan won the victory even though they started earlier in this match. This shows the extraordinary mentality of Hajime Moriyasu’s team.
Germany took the lead 1-0 in the 33rd minute. The goal was created from a penalty kick by Ilkay Gundogan.
But the situation reversed in the second half. Japan, which counts on many players from the German league, managed to score two goals, scored by Ritsu Doan in the 75th minute and Takum Asano (83rd).
Here are three keys for Japan to humiliate Germany at the 2022 World Cup:
The heroic aspect of Gonda
The 33-year-old goalkeeper has truly become a differentiator under Samurai Blue. Shuichi Gonda made a string of brilliant saves which kept Germany’s hopes alive.
Reporting from ESPN, Germany released nine on target. However, only one goal ended and that happened from the penalty spot which was executed by Ilkay Gundogan.
Other opportunities were thwarted by Gonda. Including four consecutive chances for Germany which Gonda managed to thwart in the 71st minute.
Replacement of Sharp Players
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu made five substitutions in this match. Of the five registered players, three made a positive contribution.
Kaoru Mitoma, Takuma Asano and Ritsu Doan managed to make a difference to help Japan change things. Mitoma appeared impressively on the left flank to damage the right flank of the German defence.
Meanwhile, Ritsu Doan showed good placement to score an equaliser. Finally, Asano scored the decisive goal after managing to escape the German offside trap.
Success took advantage of German negligence
Germany completely controlled the game and were dominant in creating chances to score. It’s just that ineffective substitutions turned the tide of the match.
Germany’s inadvertence could be exploited by Japan who came on in the last 15 minutes of the game.
The second goal scored by Takuma Asano also clearly showed the failure of the defense of Der Panzer. Nicklas Sule, who was last man, drew the offside line late on, allowing Takuma Asano to come face-to-face with Neur and score from a tight angle.
(jal/rhr)
