Heartwarming: Japan Fans Continue Tradition of Cleaning Up Stadiums After Shock Victory Against Germany

Heartwarming: Japan Fans Continue Tradition of Cleaning Up Stadiums After Shock Victory Against Germany

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:17 PM
In this article:
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FIFA World Cup
International
  • Japan caused a major upset in Group E, as the Samurai Blue defeated 2014 world champions Germany in the opening game of the group
  • Despite their on-field victory against the four-time World Cup winners, it was the supporters who won the hearts of many with a touching gesture
  • Up next for Japan is a tie against CONCACAF nation Costa Rica, who are hoping to bounce back from a 7-0 demolishing at the hands of Spain

Fans of Japan continued their heartwarming tradition of cleaning up stadiums after matches involving their side.

The supporters from the Far East endeared themselves to the football ecosystem four years ago in Russia, when they stayed behind to clean the stadium despite their side agonisingly losing in a last-16 tie against Belgium.

They continued their long-standing tradition after the opening ceremony and curtain-raiser involving host nation Qatar and Ecuador on Sunday, November 20.

Japan, Germany, Qatar 2022, stadium, cleaning stadium, Khalifa International Stadium
Japan fans left the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha 'sparkling clean' after their historic win against Germany. Photo credit: @brfootball
Source: Twitter

Thus it came as no surprise when they repeated the gesture, following Japan's historic victory against Germany at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, as noted by Sport Bible.

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Two late goals from substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano overturned the scoreline in favour of Japan, after Ilkay Gundogan had given the 2014 champions a first-half lead.

After the mammoth feat, fans of Japan were not lost in their celebrations. They stayed behind to clean the stadium, likely leaving the match venue in a much better state than when they had arrived.

Japan fans clean stadium

Japan fans have once again caught the world's attention, after they were spotted cleaning the Al Bayt Stadium after the opening match of this year's World Cup in Qatar.

The fans are not new to this noble act, first going viral in 2018 after a knockout game against Belgium in Russia.

Their nation had just been dumped out of the World Cup in a brutal manner, after a scintillating comeback from Belgium after the Samurai Blue thought they were on course for a quarter-final appearance.

Germany press blast Hansi Flick

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that the German press have blasted Hansi Flick and Die Mannschaft, after their shocking 2-1 defeat to Japan at the World Cup on Wednesday.

The Samurai Blue staged a second-half comeback to upset against the 2014 World Cup winners, who took the lead through Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan.

But Japan pulled level thanks to Ritsu Doan in the 75th minute, before Takuma Asano clinched the winner just eight minutes later.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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