This edition of the FIFA World Cup has already surprised us with the shocking exits of big fishes like Germany, Spain, Argentina and Portugal. The tournament being held in Russia has been even labelled ‘the world cup of the underdogs’ for the reason that there are some unexpected teams who have made it to the quarterfinals.
It is exciting to see the dark horses have a shot at the big prize, but World Cup also have given us some heartbreaking moments. The elimination of teams like Morocco, Iran, Senegal, Nigeria, etc despite fighting hard was too painful for anyone who loves the game.
One such team who saw their dreams fall down even after putting up a great performance was Japan. The Samurais were 2-0 up against their round of 16 opponents Belgium at one point of the game, but a quick turn of things saw them being knocked out when the final whistle was blown.
Japan might be going home with nothing but empty hands and broken hearts. However, they have left some big lessons for every one of us to learn.