Japan at Qatar 2022: two comebacks, and a painful limit

Japan's Qatar 2022 campaign does not fit neatly into a story of steady progress. They beat Germany, lost to Costa Rica, beat Spain and then went out against Croatia without losing the match over 120 minutes. Four fixtures produced several different answers to the question of how far this team could go.

The two victories were remarkable enough to stand alone. Read together with the defeat and the shoot-out exit, they become more useful: a record of a team capable of changing a difficult match, but still unable to reach its first men's World Cup quarter-final.

Germany: a lead overturned

Japan began against Germany on 23 November at Khalifa International Stadium. Germany led at the break, but goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano turned the opener into a 2–1 Japanese victory.

The comeback is worth remembering as two separate achievements. An equaliser changes the possibilities of a match; a winner takes advantage of those new possibilities. Japan managed both rather than settling for having recovered from the opening setback.

The result also changed the terms of the group. Germany were no longer simply a daunting name on Japan's fixture list. They were a direct rival from whom Japan had already taken three points.

Costa Rica: the interruption matters

A 1–0 defeat by Costa Rica on 27 November prevented the opening victory from becoming a straightforward route into the knockout rounds. It is the result most likely to disappear from a short account of Japan's tournament, yet it explains the pressure around the Spain match.

This is why a campaign should be read in sequence. Two famous wins can give the impression of a group dominated from start to finish. Japan's progress was less comfortable than that. Their success against one opponent did not automatically transfer to the next.

The Costa Rica game also resists a convenient hierarchy in which the most recognisable football nations must always be the hardest opponents to beat. Group points are awarded for what happens on the day, not for reputation.

Spain: another second-half reversal

On 1 December, Japan returned to Khalifa International Stadium and again trailed at half-time. Álvaro Morata had scored for Spain. Doan equalised after the interval, and Ao Tanaka supplied the goal that made it 2–1.

Japan finished first in Group E with six points. That is a different achievement from merely recording a surprise result: they emerged above Spain, Germany and Costa Rica across the complete group schedule.

There was an obvious resemblance to the Germany game in the score and the direction of the comeback. It would be a mistake, though, to assume the two matches were interchangeable. Each required Japan to respond to a particular opponent and scoreline. The shared quality was their ability to make the second half tell a different story.

Croatia: this time Japan led

The round-of-16 match on 5 December reversed the earlier pattern. Daizen Maeda put Japan ahead; Ivan Perišić equalised for Croatia. At Al Janoub Stadium, neither side found a winner in extra time.

Croatia won the shoot-out 3–1, with Dominik Livaković saving three Japanese penalties. The official match score remains 1–1 after extra time; the shoot-out decides progression and is recorded separately.

That distinction captures the frustration of the ending. Japan had not been beaten across the playing time, but their tournament was over. The method of elimination should not erase the performances that earned the knockout place, nor should the group victories obscure the task that remained unfinished.

What to keep from the campaign

The strongest way to revisit Japan in Qatar is to watch all four results together. The Germany and Spain matches demonstrate the value of a response. Costa Rica shows how little protection an earlier win offers. Croatia shows how narrow the boundary between progress and elimination can be.

Our cover is a photograph of Khalifa International during another 2022 match, identified in the image credit. It locates the venue of Japan's two group victories without pretending to show either game.