Japan shocks Belgium with 3-2 victory

Great win for Japan! What the team lacked in height they certainly made up for it with their determined play and making the best of the opportunities that they created! What a boost for the morale of the team heading into the WC!

Congratulations!

An excellent win for the Samurai Blue!! I watched the whole match and it was excellent. Shame they conceded a second goal in the 79th minute, a 3-1 scoreline would have looked like they showed the Belgians how to play football. Nonetheless, watch out next summer, the boys in blue are back!

Japan is looking like a pretty decent football team. If they can keep up the momentum a good world cup run looks possible They are definitely competing with the best. Looking good and scoring goals.

Two great results and very positive performances from Japan this week. Hope they get England when the draw is made for Brazil- should help smooth the passage into the knockout stages.

Great result, more like this please!

Glad to hear Japan won the soccer game ;D

Nice job. Shame the match was in the early morning, only saw the last 15 minutes

Well done Japan.

DudeDeuce, maybe it's time to change your citizenship. This isn't club football where you can switch allegiances at whim. I know a few foreigners here who also like to see Japan do well and that's fair enough. But they'd never cheer for another country in front of their own. That's just weird. I wonder if people like you would feel the same if Japan were lowly strugglers.

Good idea, change my citizenship because of one soccer club which takes up about .000000000001% of my life. Never said anywhere in my comment that I am anti-America because I root for the Samurai Blue. Pretty sure my passport won't be revoked for that.

@ LostinNagoya... Croatia won dude! Ukraine, Sweden, Iceland and Romania will all have to wait another four years.

I've been cheering for the Samurai Blue since 2002 and gone to about 10 games. It has gotten to the point if they played the U.S.(my country), I would probably root for Japan.

What an exceptionally curious notion that is! That anyone 'has to remain loyal to their own country'! Who chooses the country that he or she is born into? I choose to support actions/ideas/effort/thought - in fact all human effort that appeals to me as having worth or value - regardless of nationality. To feel bound to any 'club' organized and maintained by human reason, is not guaranteed to place you or me on the side of 'right'. I was glad to leave UK and have no regrets in doing so, after 17 years. The people of the whole world - are MY people - not those of any particular patch of terrain, or historical association - and I will support whatever I see as valuable to world peace and creative effort, in whatever field I see it - including sports.

Japan is looking like a pretty decent football. If they can keep up the momentum a good world cup run looks possible They are definitely competing with the best. Looking good and scoring goals.

Good to Asian football cooing up. I always root for the underdog and it's great to see a country with such a relatively short history in the sport able to match and beat Veteran European nations. Reminds me of S. Korea in 2002.

The two new FWs, Kakitani and Osako are doing a great job, no longer need Maeda and Havenaar for Samurai Blue.

Yeh I thought I was a fan but I've only been to 1 game. I don't see a problem in supporting multiple countries as long as you don't keep switching them. Its just sports, after all. But why would you want to "switch allegiances at whim" for your club team? That sounds even more weird to me.

banz10

I think most people would find your position of supporting another country in front of your own ridiculous to be honest.

Then I guess you have never been to Japan were Japanese supporters regularly support other International teams even when they are in the same group in the world cup. There is a village in Oita (Nakatsue-Mura) which is still supporting Cameroon 10 years after hosting their players (same group as Japan) and supporting them in the 2002 world cup.

There is a social psychology theory regarding this. Some people join groups with a view to comparing their group with others and thinking their own superior to others, whereas other people join groups because they enjoy the sense of cooperation within the group . In the latter case, how one considers other groups is irrelevant.

I would probably support Samurai Blue over England (my nation of birth) but then, I may also change my nationality.

We want more! Gooo Samurai Blue!

Soccer-wise, today is a good day to be French or Portuguese. Not a shiny day to be a Croatian or Swedish.

timtak, I just don't get it. Why would anyone like to see their own country get done in by another? It's a very odd notion to me, and to most other people I'd imagine. I'm not sure I see your "social psychology" point either but anyway...

Japanese sports fans can at times seem a bit wishy-washy when it comes to who to follow, often switching club loyalties when their favourite players move. But when it comes to international competition, you are who you are. It's OK as a neutral to choose another nation to support but to do so over your own? Unless you have some serious identity issues (like some gaijins who've been here way too long), surely one has to remain loyal to their own country.

DudeDeuce, maybe it's time to change your citizenship. This isn't club football where you can switch allegiances at whim. I know a few foreigners here who also like to see Japan do well and that's fair enough. But they'd never cheer for another country in front of their own. That's just weird. I wonder if people like you would feel the same if Japan were lowly strugglers.

Some might consider it a fluke

Probably Eurocentric people that think because Belgium dominated in Europe that they would dominate South American or Asian top teams.

Good idea, change my citizenship because of one soccer club which takes up about .000000000001% of my life. Never said anywhere in my comment that I am anti-America because I root for the Samurai Blue. Pretty sure my passport won't be revoked for that.

Never said anywhere in my comment either that you were anti-American. Read it again. It's NOT club, it's international. I think most people would find your position of supporting another country in front of your own ridiculous to be honest. You took the time to make a post and you mentioned that you've "been cheering for the Samurai Blue since 2002 and gone to about 10 games", clearly something important to you. But then you dismiss it as taking up about ".000000000001%" of your life. Which is it?

omg and this was a "kanzen awei" match, get ready rest of the world this time the goal is not "besuto fo" they are going for the cup now... ww

Only another meaningless friendly, no need for a victory parade.