Last Updated on 12/06/2022 by てんしょく飯
After beating Germany and Spain in the group stage, Moriyasu’s Japan’s run of success came to a halt.
Japan has been stuck in the last 16 for 24 years.
On December 5 (local time), Japan faced Croatia, the previous runner-up, in the first round of the Qatar World Cup finals.
Moriyasu scored the first goal of the match in the 43rd minute, but Japan conceded an equalizer from a set piece in the 55th minute. 1-1 extra time was not enough to decide the match, and three players failed to score in the penalty shootout.
The Korean media outlet Sports Chosun wrote, “A shocking end to a giant killer! Japan stuck in the last 16 for 24 years due to penalty shootout trauma,” the Korean media outlet Sports Chosun reported.
Japan has been stuck in the last 16 for 24 years due to the trauma of the penalty shootout,” the headline read. Japan’s historic run to the last eight stalled before the penalty shootout. Japan’s long-cherished dream of reaching the top eight in the ‘unknown world’ of the World Cup has not made new history after 24 years of waiting (since its first appearance in the tournament in 1998).
After failing to decide the match in the 90th minute and the extra 30 minutes, Japan faced a cruel fate in the penalty shootout, known as the “11-meter Russian roulette,”” the report said. Japan had self-destructed. Japan had to shed tears on the way to the top eight.
The nightmare of 12 years ago was replayed. Japan had suffered a similar setback at the 2010 tournament in South Africa, losing to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the top 16 and failing to advance to the top eight.
Japan was at the center of the ‘underdog upheaval’ in this tournament. Japan made new Asian soccer history. For the first time, they succeeded in advancing to the top 16 in two consecutive World Cup tournaments. But what they got in the end was ‘the trauma of the penalty shootout. Japan could not escape the trap of the last 16.”
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