Fifa World Cup fair play farce embarrasses Japan fans as social media users slam ‘anti-football’ tactics
Japan supporters stick the boot into team online after players run down the clock to scrape through to World Cup last 16
Japanese salarymen dashing to work on Friday exchanged high fives with bleary-eyed football fans celebrating after the country reached the last 16 of the World Cup – most blissfully unaware of a backlash against their team.
Japan lost 1-0 to Poland in Russia on Thursday in a match that ended in farce as the Samurai Blue ran down the clock knowing unless they picked up a pair of yellow cards or Senegal equalised against Colombia in the other group H game, they would go through.
“It was definitely a little bit fishy and it’s not nice to hear a crowd booing like that but, well, we reached the knockout stage – so ‘banzai!’ … I guess,” advertising copywriter Ken Yazawa said.
“It’s only the third time we’ve got this far,” the 44-year-old added. “Hopefully we can go even further, although now we have to beat Belgium to reach the quarter-finals – nightmare!”
Jeered off the pitch, Japan’s tactics in Russia were slammed on social media, with some Japanese Twitter users also putting the boot into coach Akira Nishino for ordering his team to play keep-ball in their own half.