Not for the first time at the Fifa World Cup, Japanese fans won hearts as they cleaned up the stands after their team’s memorable win against Germany at Qatar 2022 on Wednesday.
Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored as Japan began their campaign with a superb victory against the mighty Germans at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Fifa World Cup: Takuma Asano and the joy of a delightful first-touch
After their players impressed on the pitch, the Japanese fans showed the way off it as well as their fans stayed behind to clean up their rubbish in the stands.
Tidying up after one of their greatest #FIFAWorldCup wins 👏
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 24, 2022
Huge respect to these Japanese fans 🙌 #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/RVwLwykPeq
Not just that, the Japanese players and staff too cleaned up their dressing room after the match.
After an historic victory against Germany at the #FIFAWorldCup on Match Day 4, Japan fans cleaned up their rubbish in the stadium, whilst the @jfa_samuraiblue left their changing room at Khalifa International Stadium like this. Spotless.
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) November 23, 2022
Domo Arigato.👏🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/NuAQ2xrwSI
This is not the first time Japanese fans have been applauded for their class at a Fifa World Cup. They had gained plenty of admirers for the same reason at the last edition of the football tournament in Russia too. They had done so even after a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat by Belgium in the last 16.
According to a report in the BBC, some Japanese fans stayed back to clean even after the tournament opener between Qatar and Ecuador.
Here are some reactions to the Japanese fans’ inspiring act after their team’s win against Germany:
#WATCH: Fans posted a video of #FIFAWorldCup stadium staff expressing gratitude for Japanese supporters for helping clean up after the #Japan vs #Germany match #Qatar2022 https://t.co/cgRYIQECb3
— Arab News Japan (@ArabNewsjp) November 24, 2022
pic.twitter.com/mIDxz00W7T
This is class from the Japan fans 🇯🇵👏
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 23, 2022
Cleaning up in the stadium after the Germany game.#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/TavpGQSX4N
Following their historical win over Germany, Japan fans stayed to clean up the stadium ❤️👏 #SamuraiBlue pic.twitter.com/ABogrUVDjg
— FCB One Touch (@FCB_OneTouch) November 23, 2022
Japan's fans are truly the best.🇯🇵
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) November 23, 2022
They beat Germany in a famous win, but before celebrating stuck around at the Khalifa International Stadium to help clean up.👏 pic.twitter.com/sZhNExEDqi
I am becoming a bigger & bigger fan of #Japan ! What a country , Japanese people learn the "importance of courtesy" from an early age. Fans of Japanese team, known as Blue Samurai, distributed hundreds of rubbish bags and cleaned up rubbish after the match.
— Vikram Sathaye (@vikramsathaye) November 24, 2022
📹: In an incredible show of class and grace, #Japanese football fans won hearts all over social media for a second time, when they continued their post-match cleaning tradition after Japan's 2-1 win against Germanyhttps://t.co/Fg7PjIhQli#FIFAWorldCup #Japan #JapanvsGermany pic.twitter.com/IvD1HFyLsu
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) November 24, 2022
The best tradition in sports: Japan fans cleaning up after themselves at a FIFA World Cup ❤️🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/DrlX0MQWQm
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 23, 2022
Even after a famous win at the World Cup, Japan fans stayed behind to clean up ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BJnGEQWs6s
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 23, 2022