The Japan team has said goodbye to the World Cup in Qatar after falling in the round of 16 against Croatia in the fateful penalty shootout. Even so, Hajime Moriyasu’s team has been one of the great revelations of the World Cup event achieving first place in a group framed with Germany and Spain and reaching the lottery of penalties against the current finalist of the last World Cup. But the Japanese fans have also exceeded expectations away from the pitch and, as already happened in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they have once again given a ‘masterclass’ on values and education.
Regardless of the smiles after beating Spain in the group stage or the tears after losing to Croatia, the Japanese fans once again offered an example for the rest of the world with their behaviour. With the final whistle and the disappointment of elimination, the Japanese fans repeated the pattern seen in their team’s three initial matches and They distributed garbage bags to leave their stands clean. Undoubtedly, an image that is already as common in the World Cup as it is hardly casual.
The Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu also left an unusual image with the Japanese fans. After being eliminated on penalties against Croatia, the 54-year-old coach approached the stands of the stadium Al-Janoub where the Japanese fans were located and, In the form of a bow, he wanted to thank the unconditional support shown to his team throughout the World Cup.
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But also in the bowels of the field, in the locker room, the photo was similar: Japan’s players have also lived up to it and have left the dressing room impeccable during their four games regardless of what the result of the match would have been. His idea, to leave it as it was before his arrival. And the image, for the rest of the world to reflect on.