The well-known TV series Captain Tsubasa began broadcasting in Japan in 1983. This caused many young Japanese to fall in love with soccer and, ten years later, the Japanese League began to be played professionally. That same year, Japan had in hand the possibility of qualifying for its first World Cup. Then, the Doha Agony happened. The Doha Agony, or Doha Tragedy, occurred in a qualifying match for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, in which Japan and Iraq faced each other, played in Doha, Qatar, on October 28, 1993. Japan, Korea South, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and North Korea played a group in Doha, between October 15 and 28. Two of them would get the ticket to the United States. At that time, victory was worth two points. With one game to go, Japan led the group with 5 points, along with Arabia, but South Korea, Iraq and Iran had 4 points. Therefore, the Japanese depended on themselves to go to their first final phase of a World Cup. Everything started perfectly. In the first half, Japan took the lead, thanks to a goal by Kazuyoshi Miura, who took advantage of a rebound from the Iraqi goalkeeper to make it 1-0, but the Iraqis equalized in minute 54. In the 80th minute, a goal by Masashi Nakayama, put the Japanese team ahead, thus paving the way to play the 1994 World Cup in the United States. The rest of the games were already over. South Korea had beaten North Korea 3-0 and Arabia did the same, 4-3, against Iran. A tie was not worth it to Japan, but the 90th minute was coming. It was a matter of fulfilling the discount and celebrating the classification. However, after minute 90, the crowning moment of history arrived. An Iraqi cross from the right was finished off by Jaffar Omran Salman and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Japan saw their great opportunity slip through their fingers. Since then, the Japanese have used this sporting tragedy as encouragement for their team. On the other hand, South Korean fans refer to their team’s classification as the Miracle of Doha. But, the story returned to its origin. And, since Captain Tsubasa was the propellant of soccer in the land of the rising sun, the same series took its revenge on its own in the Captain Tsubasa J series. Currently, and precisely since then, Japan has never failed in a Cup of the World, adding six consecutive participations.
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