Amidst the happiness and celebrations for the comeback victory over Germany (2-1, in Doha) in the debut of the Qatar Cup, players from Japan mentioned the underdog of the previous day, Saudi Arabia, who also defeated Argentina from Messi.
Underdogs at the time, the Japanese surprised four-time world champion Germany, one of the favorites for the title at this year’s World Cup.
“They [sauditas] they played a great game. It was inspiring,” said attacking midfielder Mitoma, who came on early in the second half when Japan were still behind on the scoreboard.
“This moment is unbelievable for the team and for me. We were thinking of a draw but of course we wanted to win. This game was incredible and I think we made history.”
Captain Yoshida also mentioned the Saudi triumph, but he didn’t seem completely surprised.
“It was a surprise, but not a big surprise. We knew that Saudi Arabia has a very good team, they all play together in the same league [a do próprio país]🇧🇷 They are good players, especially when playing at home. Not quite at home [na Copa]but they are in their region, in the Middle East.”
For the defender, Japan used the half-time break to make adjustments that proved important for the reaction. “We were struggling to mark Musiala and Müller. We changed the defense a little and improved our marking.”
“After the goal, we tried to remain calm, safe. We knew that in the second half we could have more chances, have more space. We are strong collectively and we showed that”, completed Yoshida, who plays in German football (Schalke 04).
For Group E, Japan returns to the field in the World Cup on Sunday (27), against Costa Rica. On the same day, Germany will try to react in the derby against Spain.
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