The Japanese roared their joy and hugged each other in bewilderment. Freiburg goalkeeper Ritsu Doan ran happily across the pitch with a national flag on his back, after which he and his team-mates were celebrated by the Japanese fans dressed all in blue. The outsider and tournament co-favorite Spain made it into the round of 16 together in a thriller for the group final – and ended the German dream of the World Cup.
But did everything go right when the Japanese scored the second goal? Before the winning goal, Kaoru Mitoma, as a second joker, put the ball on for the scorer Ao Tanaka. But the ball was as good as out. The images do not resolve the scene 100 percent either, but it seems as if the ball is not completely behind the chalk mark, but just above the white edge as the crow flies.
Referee Victor Gomes from South Africa spent several minutes checking whether the ball had fully crossed the goal line – then the whistle sounded: goal! Japan cheered, the Asians were now suddenly group winners, which was shown in large on the stadium display.
After beating Germany at the start, the Japanese celebrated the next 2-1 (0-1) coup against the 2010 world champions and could hardly believe their luck. The underdog now plays in the first knockout round on Monday against reigning World Cup runners-up Croatia. Coach Luis Enrique’s Spanish team is challenged by Morocco a day later.
The other round of 16 matches that have been decided so far are Netherlands vs USA, England. against Senegal, Argentina against Australia and France against Poland.
With DPA
