Japan showed immense grit in their FIFA World Cup 2018 Round of 16 match against Belgium before going down 2-3. The result was particularly disheartening for the fans and the Japanese players alike as till early second half, they led 2-0. (BEL v JPN report)
Nonetheless, the loss did not deter Japanese fans from displaying exemplary behaviour. After the match ended in Rostov-on-Don, Japanese fans could be seen cleaning up the stands and filing up all the trash in plastic bags. (BEL v JPN highlights) Their football team was not behind either as it cleaned the dressing room and even left a ‘Thank you’ note behind.
However, most of the fans were teary-eyed after the result. The Samurai Blue looked on track to reach their first quarter-final in three last-16 attempts, only to see the Belgium national football team roar back and snatch a 3-2 win with an explosive counter-attack deep into stoppage time. “When we took the lead I thought we were going to win,” said 21-year-old university student Nao Okada, who burst into tears at a Tokyo sports bar as the final whistle sounded.