At one time, Japanese football was a secondary sport. An amateur team that had never even made it to the World Cup until 1998 π―π΅ But in 2022 in Qatar, they overthrew both “Germany” and “Spain”, two former world champions, and finished 1st in the “Group of Death”. This is not luck, but a “30-year plan” β the story of a nation that dared to announce One hundred year vision since 1992 to be a world champion. Even though at that time they had never even been to the World Cup β The J. League was established, fueling the fire with Captain Tsubasa cartoons β Exporting players from Hidetoshi Nakata until today almost the entire team plays in Europe β Mitoma’s “1 millimeter” goal that doesn’t give up β The culture of collecting trash and clean dressing rooms that the world praises, and today Japan is the first team in the world (besides the hosts) who clinched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup with one goal β to become world champions. Perhaps the samurai’s lesson is the lesson for all of us: dream big. Didn’t start from being number one But it starts with daring to dream and then do it on the day that no one still believes in it. π Click to follow the channel “Secret stories of the football world” β the true story behind the football world. Both drama and inspiration ββββββββββββββββββββ π This clip is made as a documentary/encouragement. Refer to verifiable public facts. Use only still photos/illustrations/graphics created by yourself. No copyrighted match clips will be used. Β· The 2026 World Cup is currently being played. This clip only discusses qualifying and the team’s goals. Does not refer to results of the 2026 finals π Main references β’ Japan national football team β Wikipedia β https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_national_football_team β’ How close is Japan to its plan to win the World Cup by 2050 β ESPN β https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48945194/japan-plan-win-world-cup-2050-how-close-get-2026 β’ Germany 1-2 Japan (2022 World Cup) β Sky Sports β https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/12753787/world-cup-2022-germany-1-2-japan-late-ritsu-doan-and-takuma-asano-goals-earn-shock-victory β’ Japan 2-1 Spain (2022 World Cup) β Sky Sports β https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12757077/world-cup-2022-japan-2-1-spain-ao-tanakas-controversial-goal-stuns-luis-enriques-side-but-both-sides-advance β’ Why Japan’s winning goal vs Spain was awarded (the “1mm” goal, VAR) β ESPN β https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37634475/why-japans-winning-goal-vs-spain-was-awarded-var β’ Japan first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup β Olympics.com β https://www.olympics.com/en/news/japan-qualify-mens-2026-football-world-cup β’ Captain Tsubasa, a hero for footballers β Al Jazeera β https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2022/10/3/who-is-captain-tsubasa-a-hero-for-spanish-footballers β’ Why Japan’s fans (and players) tidy up β CNN β https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/14/sport/japan-fans-tidy-world-cup (Full reference list + all facts, see sources.md for this episode) πΌοΈ Photo credit: Football photos from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY / CC BY-SA) β List of photographers by file in images/CREDITS.md Β· City/stadium/trophy images are CC images from the channel archive Β· Custom graphics/text cards #Japan national team #Japanese football #Japan #SamuraiBlue #2026 World Cup #2022 World Cup #Mitoma #Nakata #Football #Football secrets #Inspiration #Football legend
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