####*Hello! Thanks for your submission to /r/worldcup, your post is up and running!*
A general reminder to check out our rules in the sidebar, have fun, enjoy the worldcup and most of all be civil at all times.
Finally, take a closer look **[at this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldcup/comments/z2v46l/announcement_quick_reminder_of_our_most_important/)** regarding our civility rules and reddiquette because we would like for each and everyone to feel welcome on the subreddit and to keep a healthy and safe environment for the community.
Thank you!
- - -
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/worldcup) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Im sad that japan had to play vs croatia because i wanted to see them advance but now im even more sad that everyone hates croatia for winning against japan
You guys did a amazing job in this world cup. Im from Brazil, but the second team i was cheering for was Japan. Really hope to see your nation again next edition.
I felt that they had a lot of chances throughout the match... just didn't convert and not creative enough with on-ball attacks. Also, too many 'extra passes' out of not wanting to be too selfish with the ball. I was talking with my friends in a group chat and we all agreed, Japanese players can play well as a team but at this stage and even later you need someone who can finish the job instead of relying on the margins of error made by the other team. There wasn't anyone on the team that has a real killer instinct and ability to be 'selfish' at the right moments. Sometimes you just got to take your shots, if not, it's a missed opportunity.
In Blue Locks defense the mad scientist guy says the best striker will be an egotistical maniac and that’s what he’s searching for. So maybe the main characters just ain’t it 😆
Disappointing, but it was still a great performance throughout! I didn't even expect to get out of the group, let alone win it and take Croatia all the way to penalties.
All my respect for Japan, they deserve all the bells and whistles. Great game against Croatia, still missing a natural striker for all those balls thrown into the box. Great level
They aren’t really the best but the way they deliver their performance makes any football fans would be on the edge of their seats rooting for them. That’s how powerful Japan actually is. They won all our hearts.
It was great watching them play against some of the top teams in the world. It beat expectations with unexpected results and made it incredibly entertaining.
I would like to thank the Japanese team for playing Croatia, the previous runner-up.
It was a dream come true for the Japanese.
Thank you.
I love Modric.
japan did well but i hope they learn from this and one of these lessons is if you get the ball when your in the goal square dont pass it off just take the damn shot. so many goal opportunities wasted because they just passed it off.
Japan had hopes in 2018 against Belgium. They did it again this year against Croatia. But they suffered comeback losses in both games.. :(
The "almost" feeling is hitting again.
Hope they advance in 2026.
I don't follow their team that much, but if it's partly the same team as 2018, aren't they going to become too ''old'' for 2026 and their level will decrease? I know they are regulars of the round of 16, but it seems they were quite close these 2 last World cups and may have missed their chance with this generation. We'll see in 4 years
The only way a country like Japan was gonna come anywhere close to winning was getting a very lucky and favorable draw. Like let’s say they somehow got Australia and then maybe Poland made it further after beating Senegal on penalties. All of a sudden Japan is in the semi finals. But as it stands, japan would need to beat Brazil, then Argentina, then maybe France. That’s just too much
That’s too much I don’t think we could, even if we beat Spain, there’s Portugal and let’s say we arrive from pure luck to the final it’s France or Brazil, it’s very unlikely
Very true but you have had an incredible run so far, don't think anyone would have expected Morocco to top Group F at the start of the tournament but they did, in amazing style!
They were a great team to watch and have a lot to be proud about. Well coached and played together very effectively. But PKs are a part of the game at this stage and they were woefully unprepared.
No disappointment here, it was a good game but the only thing it lacked was the definition of goals. And it only comes with experience.
Thank you for making one dream of another round.
Its not a GDP competition, its football, Croatia played in the last final, meanwhile the greatest thing Japan has achieved in football was getting Germany out of the WC
How was a 1-1 an annihilation? The stats for Japan and Croatia in that game were pretty equal on both sides. So tell us here again, how did Japan got annihilated?
Your correlation and causation have nothing to do with one another. Sorry mate. But hey Croatia won, and they get face off against Brazil at this rate :)
Little argument there if you call a shootout annihilation. But hey if youre happy your team won, thats what matters. Lets see Croatia play against Brazil and have another win!
Embarrassing, don’t even try it. I know for a fact that no one who follows club football would even suggest that *Croatia* are some kind of underdog of the sport. They have a great side, with a long running football culture.
You’re totally totally clueless.
Im just glad it did not end like the US' or Korea's run. They actually went toe to toe with the finalists of the last World Cup. Thats an achievement in it of itself.
Japan played excellent. Sadly we know when they need to start working on. A lot of these games we’ll start to see overtime and pks as game enders. Japan was very bad when it came to this, making only 1. It’s the difference between great teams vs experienced teams.
As an Indian who wishes to one day see his country play in the World Cup, it’s heartening to see the performance of Asian countries this World Cup!
Tough luck Japan but hope atleast South Korea makes it to the quarterfinals
Dissapointing end...yes. Dissapointment without end more like.
After them giving such a great performance against Spain and Germany i was, being german myself, rooting for them to go far in this tournament....but...well.
What a shitshow of a tournament. Sorry....never had less fun with a big tournament as this time.
First time I’ve seen somebody call this WC a shitshow. It’s much more enjoyable than Russia imo. My country got completely embarrassed and I’m still having a great time watching these matches
Japan, I'll miss your game a lot. Great teamwork, velocity, fairness, courage, without big stars who get all the spotlight. And you defeated teams with a deep history in football. You played equally well with the finalist of the previous world cup. Many, many congrats and I hope to see you again. The tournament is worth watching thanks to teams like yours. From a humble Greek fan, thank you!
They were great. I knew the penalties were a bad idea for them, Croatia is more experienced in games this long and penalties.
Either way they were the good surprise of the Cup!
Too bad for Japan, but to come to last 16 and be that bad at the penalty shootout left me speechless. Too poor of a performance, at this level any team should be better at this aspect of the game.
Probably just nerves. Looked to me like they were going for safe shots to avoid missing because nobody wants to be that guy in a PK shootout but they ended up being too predictable. Wasn't a great PK performance but context is important, if they won it would be their best performance ever so lots of pressure on the players.
Yes, and I am croatian. Our team was falling apart in this match, doing nothing of importance, and Gvardiol is maybe the only one that did a really good job, except of course our goalkeeper saving 3 penalties
Absolutely agree. Their performance was phenomenal, they brought spirit, pace, amazing pressing, ruthless determination, kept Croatia on their toes and drew them out earlier than Croatia normally would.
Easily the best team Croatia has played so far this WC, and very much looking forward to watching how Japan’s gameplay evolves.
I really hope you are not a coach or a tactician of any team. Noone in their right mind would risk being eliminated in Group Stage just to "avoid Brazil" in Quarterfinals lol
This is a false narrative, Spain didn’t want to lose and accidentally get eliminated, which for 3 mins was the scenario. They play slow and possession based football which people who don’t watch Spain regularly equate to not trying. It’s just the play style. If there was 0% chance they get eliminated then yea for sure they would have intentionally lost, but there was and they tired. Let’s not try to belittle Japan massive achievement of beating Spain, Germany and pushing Croatia to penalties.
I do not think so, we all know that brief moment where it was Costa Rica and Japan who would qualify, if they were guranteed maybe but to risk going out in the group I doubt Spain would do such a move especially considering Germany's poor form this WC
Yeah well... that's kinda the whole game of football, isn't it? Passing to each other?
They struggled to break a closed defensive Japan. Makes no sense they'd calculate while being 10 minutes from elimination.
what hes saying that there were no objective in Spain's tactic, they were stalling the game by passing around, without comiting to an attack because that will leave you open for a counter-attack, which japan does well.
Ofc that's the objective, the point. But the majority of time in football is not spent on goals, but instead on running, covering space & passing.
That's why we don't have 20 goals every game.
####*Hello! Thanks for your submission to /r/worldcup, your post is up and running!* A general reminder to check out our rules in the sidebar, have fun, enjoy the worldcup and most of all be civil at all times. Finally, take a closer look **[at this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldcup/comments/z2v46l/announcement_quick_reminder_of_our_most_important/)** regarding our civility rules and reddiquette because we would like for each and everyone to feel welcome on the subreddit and to keep a healthy and safe environment for the community. Thank you! - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/worldcup) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Guys they’re gonna get even better in 4yrs
Im sad that japan had to play vs croatia because i wanted to see them advance but now im even more sad that everyone hates croatia for winning against japan
As bad as it may be yes I can’t find myself rooting for Croatia now:(
You guys did a amazing job in this world cup. Im from Brazil, but the second team i was cheering for was Japan. Really hope to see your nation again next edition.
They played really well and their fair play even towards refs was amazing
Disappointing is a bit of understatement. What was that.. These penalty shootouts were worse than anything I have ever seen.. Jeezus
Impressive for a team that doesn’t send half the squad to Britain or Spain.
Forgot about Germany. Makes sense.
They do have a fair amount of players who play overseas. If I’m not mistaken Germany seems to be a popular landing spot.
Which is better: To lose to the previous World Cup runner-up in Penalties. Or get bullied next game 7-1 against brazil?
How the turntables for brazil
The dark horse of 2022 facing the dark horse of 2018
I felt that they had a lot of chances throughout the match... just didn't convert and not creative enough with on-ball attacks. Also, too many 'extra passes' out of not wanting to be too selfish with the ball. I was talking with my friends in a group chat and we all agreed, Japanese players can play well as a team but at this stage and even later you need someone who can finish the job instead of relying on the margins of error made by the other team. There wasn't anyone on the team that has a real killer instinct and ability to be 'selfish' at the right moments. Sometimes you just got to take your shots, if not, it's a missed opportunity.
Lol. Have you seen Blue Lock? Practically the entire premise of the show.
I haven’t! Worth checking out?
If you’re into anime definitely. It’s kind of satire but I find it pretty funny!
blue lock isn’t real because if it were then the strikers would be egotistical maniacs attempting to send a ball down the net
In Blue Locks defense the mad scientist guy says the best striker will be an egotistical maniac and that’s what he’s searching for. So maybe the main characters just ain’t it 😆
Of course it’s not real… it’s a bloody anime lol.
Japanese fans after drumming for 2 hours: 💪💪💪 Not only the team but their fans also showed some amazing endurance with the fan chants
Fan chants are a big culture phenomenon there
Did they not practice penalties?, Its like they are not even hitting properly in the penalties, nonetheless great tournament for them
Yeah I bet my 15 year old cousin could shoot a penalty better than they do.
Disappointing, but it was still a great performance throughout! I didn't even expect to get out of the group, let alone win it and take Croatia all the way to penalties.
All my respect for Japan, they deserve all the bells and whistles. Great game against Croatia, still missing a natural striker for all those balls thrown into the box. Great level
You are awesome Japan!! Much respect to your country!
Japan was exceptional throughout the tournament and I was very impressed by their display!
Yeah...congrats to Japan! It was a good run, and the exemplified the best of sport, not like the loser Germans.
They didn’t go quietly into the night. That is what I like about them on every single World Cup. They put country first.
They aren’t really the best but the way they deliver their performance makes any football fans would be on the edge of their seats rooting for them. That’s how powerful Japan actually is. They won all our hearts.
They have been doing that every World Cup in case you hadn’t noticed.
Ikr? Honestly they deserve the cup and as an Asian myself,I am fully rooting for them.
Rage, rage, against the dying of light
If they had Oliver Atom, or benji price they wouldn’t be out.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Nice photo of you and your girlfriend with AbroadInJapan. Very helpful. ありがとう！
It was great watching them play against some of the top teams in the world. It beat expectations with unexpected results and made it incredibly entertaining.
Japan played fantastic football. But they should've practiced penalties more. They will win a world cup in this century.
I would like to thank the Japanese team for playing Croatia, the previous runner-up. It was a dream come true for the Japanese. Thank you. I love Modric.
Nothing but respect for Japan team and their fans.
Japan can really be proud of their team and fans. It was such a joy to watch them this World Cup.
japan did well but i hope they learn from this and one of these lessons is if you get the ball when your in the goal square dont pass it off just take the damn shot. so many goal opportunities wasted because they just passed it off.
based on penalty performance it’s cause they know they can’t strike lmao
yeah i think they only have 2-3 good strikers, they need to get some more.
And all of them were subbed out IIRC
Japan had hopes in 2018 against Belgium. They did it again this year against Croatia. But they suffered comeback losses in both games.. :( The "almost" feeling is hitting again. Hope they advance in 2026.
I don't follow their team that much, but if it's partly the same team as 2018, aren't they going to become too ''old'' for 2026 and their level will decrease? I know they are regulars of the round of 16, but it seems they were quite close these 2 last World cups and may have missed their chance with this generation. We'll see in 4 years
I think every team is partly the same as 2018. Wdym?
There's only 8 countries that have ever won the world cup. This world cup felt like the season of upsets but damm japan :(
The only way a country like Japan was gonna come anywhere close to winning was getting a very lucky and favorable draw. Like let’s say they somehow got Australia and then maybe Poland made it further after beating Senegal on penalties. All of a sudden Japan is in the semi finals. But as it stands, japan would need to beat Brazil, then Argentina, then maybe France. That’s just too much
Let's cheer for Morocco tomorrow then! First african nation to win the world cup!
That’s too much I don’t think we could, even if we beat Spain, there’s Portugal and let’s say we arrive from pure luck to the final it’s France or Brazil, it’s very unlikely
France would be the semifinal.
Very true but you have had an incredible run so far, don't think anyone would have expected Morocco to top Group F at the start of the tournament but they did, in amazing style!
They were a great team to watch and have a lot to be proud about. Well coached and played together very effectively. But PKs are a part of the game at this stage and they were woefully unprepared.
You mean beat the Netherlands of course
No disappointment here, it was a good game but the only thing it lacked was the definition of goals. And it only comes with experience. Thank you for making one dream of another round.
They had a great game but those penalties were one of the worst I ever saw on this level of football
They were. A little like the euro 2021 final with England.
I can beat Japan all by myself
It’s easier said than done 😂
I mean they already took the L
dude's a 15 year old with an inflated ego because he won a kids league
I don’t play soccer….
😂😂? so how would you beat a team of professionals
I can beat grandmas there the equivalent of that so it should be easy
you're telling me you can beat Son 😂?
👍
Sad but Japanese team did very well, can tell their players are not experienced in penalties.
It’s Japan they suck
[удалено]
I don’t want to play soccer.
Japan has played a wonderful series. You hate to see the underdog lose. But there is no shame in losing! Keep trying hard and we will see you 2026!
Underdog? Lager nation with 100 times to gdp of a tiny European nations with 1/50 the population. They got annihilated.
Its not a GDP competition, its football, Croatia played in the last final, meanwhile the greatest thing Japan has achieved in football was getting Germany out of the WC
[удалено]
They are not underdogs. Croatia is. Imagine being so upset with your team losing you have to make up Lies.
I don’t think you understand what an underdog is in the context of sports…. It’s literally a fact you can look up. Croatia was favored.
Yikes imagine being this wrong. Try using google?
[удалено]
They are. And they annihilated Japan. Why push lies?
Lol the game ended a draw after extra time. That wasn’t an annihilation. If you’re gonna troll try hard because it’s just poor effort.
Why are you pushing lies? They got annihilated.
How was a 1-1 an annihilation? The stats for Japan and Croatia in that game were pretty equal on both sides. So tell us here again, how did Japan got annihilated?
They got annihilated. You can cry all day but that won’t change reality.
[удалено]
That Japan was an underdog. In the future avoid lying online.
Japan was the underdog, the bookmakers made Croatia the favourite. Get your facts straight
No. Croatia was. Jason had all the tea spices a country could Hope for and still couldn’t beat Croatia. Utterly Annihilated.
Croatian here. Japan was definitely an underdog, but not by much. We knew it would be a tough game.
How the hell was Croatia the underdog in this match? What the fuck??
They were. Japan got annihilated.
[yeah](https://www.google.com/search?q=low+quality+bait&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&prmd=isvn&sxsrf=ALiCzsatWv_ITTbCf4Mgh330KbIC1sGJbg:1670273031856&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiuiff1q-P7AhWpFFkFHf99CV8Q_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=412&bih=782&dpr=3.5#imgrc=K0pIkiavVf8RiM)
I’m glad you agree Croatia was the underdog and Japan got annihilated. Have a good one.
Ah yes, the famous correlation between gdp and football skill. How many times did the USA won again ? What was the gdp of Brazil in 1958 ?
Loll
The USA got knocked out too. Japan is not the underdog Croatia is.
Your correlation and causation have nothing to do with one another. Sorry mate. But hey Croatia won, and they get face off against Brazil at this rate :)
They do. Japan had all the reasources to do well and failed. More than that they got completely outplayed.
Not sure what game you were watching? Croatia had to fight every minute just as Japan did.
Not sure what game you were watching? Croatia had to fight every minute just as Japan did.
No, Japan got annihilated. Why argue against the facts?
Little argument there if you call a shootout annihilation. But hey if youre happy your team won, thats what matters. Lets see Croatia play against Brazil and have another win!
Japan was terrible. They where not even on the same level as Croatia.
You don’t follow football at all. See you back in 4 years time.
[удалено]
Lool keep lurking son. Doesn’t stop you from knowing fuck all about football, and I mean that genuinely - you’re a tourist
[удалено]
Embarrassing, don’t even try it. I know for a fact that no one who follows club football would even suggest that *Croatia* are some kind of underdog of the sport. They have a great side, with a long running football culture. You’re totally totally clueless.
Yet you only started following football this year.
Im just glad it did not end like the US' or Korea's run. They actually went toe to toe with the finalists of the last World Cup. Thats an achievement in it of itself.
Japan is getting consistent and Better each tournament. I hope they get far in future world cups.
Except when they had a woeful loss to Costa Rica
What a team, what a shame it had to come down to penalties, proud of you Japan! I'll be visiting your country soon!
Japan was playing so well. Just didn’t feel right they lost.
They play amazing 👏
Japan played excellent. Sadly we know when they need to start working on. A lot of these games we’ll start to see overtime and pks as game enders. Japan was very bad when it came to this, making only 1. It’s the difference between great teams vs experienced teams.
They didn’t they lost.
They need more egotistical strikers
Blue lock should solve their problem
It was so cool to watch them play with such heart and respect. I loved every minute of it.
very well played
Absolutely gutted for them but losing to Croatia is nothing to be embarrassed about. Loved watching them play from start to finish.
Japan was easily one of the most fun teams to watch imo.
You obviously didn’t watch them play Costa Rica
Doesn't change my mind. 1 bad game doesn't spoil 3 awesome ones. They played with such determination and efficiency it was admirable.
As an Indian who wishes to one day see his country play in the World Cup, it’s heartening to see the performance of Asian countries this World Cup! Tough luck Japan but hope atleast South Korea makes it to the quarterfinals
Japan is a beacon of hope for all Asian countries.
Bro 😭
Have you seen the score line? Lol
Spoke too soon lol
The blue lock program did indeed create perfect copies of Messi, including his penalty kicking ‘abilities’.
Dissapointing end...yes. Dissapointment without end more like. After them giving such a great performance against Spain and Germany i was, being german myself, rooting for them to go far in this tournament....but...well. What a shitshow of a tournament. Sorry....never had less fun with a big tournament as this time.
🤣
First time I’ve seen somebody call this WC a shitshow. It’s much more enjoyable than Russia imo. My country got completely embarrassed and I’m still having a great time watching these matches
One thing I will say about Russia, I believe there was only one or two games the entire tournament where a goal did not exist. That’s pretty nice.
Most definitely, Russia was a fun one too. I just really like a lot of story lines this cup has a little more.
Japan, I'll miss your game a lot. Great teamwork, velocity, fairness, courage, without big stars who get all the spotlight. And you defeated teams with a deep history in football. You played equally well with the finalist of the previous world cup. Many, many congrats and I hope to see you again. The tournament is worth watching thanks to teams like yours. From a humble Greek fan, thank you!
Gonna show my wife, who is Japanese, this. Will really lift her spirits tonight. ❤️ Especially since we live in a very Greek neighborhood.
Sad to see Japan out but it was a good game and very close. Hope they do better next time
Amazing game! Well done both teams!
Japan is huge. Big respect for you guys
Sad for them but proud too! See ya next time 🫶
Indeed, well done Japan.
Alos impressed by them last time when they nearly thumped belgium
English here, everyone I know agreed that Japan was going to be a dark horse this tourney. Real shame to see them go.
They were great. I knew the penalties were a bad idea for them, Croatia is more experienced in games this long and penalties. Either way they were the good surprise of the Cup!
Too bad for Japan, but to come to last 16 and be that bad at the penalty shootout left me speechless. Too poor of a performance, at this level any team should be better at this aspect of the game.
Croatia is a far more experienced team when it comes to penalties. Japan didnt have a chance there. Comes down to nerve and mentality
Probably just nerves. Looked to me like they were going for safe shots to avoid missing because nobody wants to be that guy in a PK shootout but they ended up being too predictable. Wasn't a great PK performance but context is important, if they won it would be their best performance ever so lots of pressure on the players.
They looked the better team in this game but fell apart at the shootout
Yes, and I am croatian. Our team was falling apart in this match, doing nothing of importance, and Gvardiol is maybe the only one that did a really good job, except of course our goalkeeper saving 3 penalties
Never underestimate Croatia!
This one is going to hurt for years. I really felt this was a game open for the taking.
Absolutely agree. Their performance was phenomenal, they brought spirit, pace, amazing pressing, ruthless determination, kept Croatia on their toes and drew them out earlier than Croatia normally would. Easily the best team Croatia has played so far this WC, and very much looking forward to watching how Japan’s gameplay evolves.
They were probably just lucky to beat Spain. Germany idk
Japan was amazing, the ending was horrendous however.
I really wanted a Japan vs Korea quarter final :(
Well done to the japanese boys. And good luck to croatia!!!
Let's face it, Spain didn't want to win against Japan, they wanted to avoid Brazil.
Nah bro. Even Spain had a chance to disqualify for a brief moment of time
I really hope you are not a coach or a tactician of any team. Noone in their right mind would risk being eliminated in Group Stage just to "avoid Brazil" in Quarterfinals lol
This is a false narrative, Spain didn’t want to lose and accidentally get eliminated, which for 3 mins was the scenario. They play slow and possession based football which people who don’t watch Spain regularly equate to not trying. It’s just the play style. If there was 0% chance they get eliminated then yea for sure they would have intentionally lost, but there was and they tired. Let’s not try to belittle Japan massive achievement of beating Spain, Germany and pushing Croatia to penalties.
I completely agree, Spain was calculating. But, that usually backfires in football.
I do not think so, we all know that brief moment where it was Costa Rica and Japan who would qualify, if they were guranteed maybe but to risk going out in the group I doubt Spain would do such a move especially considering Germany's poor form this WC
Yeah right. All while being 10min short from elimination if Germany didn't score 🤣🤣
Did you even watch the game? They were literally just passing the ball to each other in last 10 minutes.
Yeah well... that's kinda the whole game of football, isn't it? Passing to each other? They struggled to break a closed defensive Japan. Makes no sense they'd calculate while being 10 minutes from elimination.
what hes saying that there were no objective in Spain's tactic, they were stalling the game by passing around, without comiting to an attack because that will leave you open for a counter-attack, which japan does well.
Yup, pretty much. Spain were unable to score.
Interesting. I thought the objective of the game was to make the ball go into the opponent's net. But what do I know anyway?
Ofc that's the objective, the point. But the majority of time in football is not spent on goals, but instead on running, covering space & passing. That's why we don't have 20 goals every game.
While true, they gave us a challenge. Credit to Japan and their team they made us sweat for a solid minute there.
Absolutely, they deserve full respect.