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Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of Japan’s national football team, celebrates after having bested the German national team in Japan’s first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 23. (AFP/Yonhap)

Hajime Moriyasu, the coach for the Japanese men’s soccer team, performed a “miracle in Doha” that left the world stunned on Wednesday. The Japanese coach called Japan’s win against Germany in their first game at the World Cup in Qatar a “historic victory.”

Japan was able to secure an unexpected 2-1 comeback win against Germany at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the first Group E match held on Wednesday at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

Reacting to the upset, Moriyasu said, “It’s a big surprise and we are now reaching the global standard.”

Moriyasu added, “We saw Saudi Arabia with a surprise win [beating Argentina on Tuesday], so we are showing the capability of Asian football.”

Although Japan spent the first half of the match lagging behind the German team and was down 0-1, they managed to get a second wind after halftime and come back to dash Germany’s dreams of winning the game.

Moriyasu, who turned the match around in the second half with three substitutions made at very shrewd timings, said, “Even before the match and also during the halftime, I said that if we continue to fight persistently as a team, the opportunity to win would arise and the players were ultimately able to pull it off.”

In addition, Moriyasu said that “of six of our squad, four play in the Bundesliga, two in the Premier League” adding that Japanese players have been “fighting in these very strong tough leagues” and learning fiercely on a world-class stage.

There are 19 players on Japan’s national team who play for European clubs, including the German league.

“In that sense, Germany has made a great contribution to the development of Japanese soccer. In the future, I want to continue to fight on the world stage showing Japan's strengths while learning from Germany,” the Japanese coach said.

The Japanese team, which was expected to be the underdog of Group E, now has secured its spot in the round of 16 and is scheduled to play its second match, this time against Costa Rica, on Sunday.

By Park Kang-su, staff reporter

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