Mitoma and Japan beat “best team at the World Cup”

This lot of Samurai Blues are quite good, aren’t they? Kaoru Mitoma and his Japan teammates pulled off their second big shock of the World Cup, beating Spain 2-1 to finish top of Qatar 2022’s group of death.

In the process, they played a part in eliminating four-time winners Germany from the tournament at the earliest stage. Having beaten the 2014 winners and the 2010 winners, Japan securing first place in Group E was no fluke.

The question now is how far can Mitoma and Japan go at this World Cup? ITV spent most of the build up to Spain v Japan and Germany v Costa Rica talking about how good Spain had been in their previous two matches.

Gary Neville even went so far as to call them the best team at the World Cup. They certainly looked like one of the favourites when hammering Costa Rica 7-1 before dominating against the Germans.

Spain though came unstuck against Japan, just as Germany had when losing 2-1 to the Samurai Blue in their opening game of the tournament.

Japan have a very clear style and identity which troubles the biggest nations. At the same time, they struggled against Costa Rica. As Brighton fans, that sounds familiar.

The BBC reported that since detailed World Cup records began in 1966, only two teams have ever lost a game in which they had over 700 successful passes.

Spain in their 2-1 defeat to Japan in 2022. And Germany in their 2-1 defeat to Japan in 2022. Opponents can have as much of the ball as they like against the Samurai Blue; Japan are lighting quick and lethal enough to punish anyone with the small amount of possession they garner.

Central to this is Mitoma. Some Brighton fans are growing increasingly frustrated that Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu continues to name Mitoma on the bench.

But why change what works? Mitoma turns games when he comes on, sewing chaos by bringing a totally different threat for a tiring defence to deal with.

Would he have the same impact if he started matches? Probably not in a team who are set out to grow stronger as the game progresses.

Spain found that out at the Khalifa International Stadium. La Roja dominated the first half, going into the interval with a 1-0 lead after Alvaro Morata headed home a Cesar Azpilicueta cross with just 11 minutes played.

Moriyasu introduced his super subs at half time, with Ritsu Doan and Mitoma entering proceedings. Within six minutes of the restart, both had been heavily involved in turning the game around.

Doan equalised with a vicious shot from outside the area with practically his first touch. Mitoma then hooked a ball which looked to have been out of play back across goal for Ao Tanaka to bundle home at the far post.

The goal was initially ruled out with the assistant referee believing the ball had crossed the line for a Spain goal kick.

VAR though took a lengthy look and decided that “the curvature of the ball was hanging over the line”. Debates raged over perception, angles and lighting, but Japan did not care; they had the lead and Mitoma had his first direct assist of the World Cup.

At one point, it appeared as though the unthinkable could happen and both Spain and Germany would be going home.

Costa Rica briefly led against Die Mannschaft, which would have sent them and Japan through. Germany sadly rallied to win 4-2.

That however was not enough to extend the Germans’ stay in Qatar as they required a Japan defeat to snatch second place in the group.

Japan will now go onto face Croatia in the round of 16, where they will no doubt need more Mitoma magic from the bench if they are to equal their best ever World Cup by reaching the quarter finals.

Spain and Robert Sanchez meanwhile take on surprise packages Morocco, who won Group F ahead of 2018 finalists Croatia and 2018 semi finalists Belgium.

Ah yes, Belgium. It was a World Cup to forget for Leandro Trossard and co as they made an early exit despite being the second best team on the planet according to the FIFA World Rankings.

Trossard was given his first start of the tournament in their must-win game against Croatia, leading the line in the false nine role he has enjoyed a lot of joy in since Roberto De Zerbi arrived as Brighton manager.

Belgium could only muster three shots on target with Trossard withdrawn on the hour mark. The Red Devils looked more of a threat with Romelu Lukaku introduced, until the Inter Milan striker produced a series of late misses which would make even Aaron Connolly blush as it finished 0-0.

That completed a miserable tournament for Belgium, whose early exit also means that Trossard and his agent will have an extra two weeks to talk to anyone who will listen about a move to Chelsea.

A tip for anyone worried about Trossard’s future? Keep watching Japan and Mitoma. They will put a smile on your face which will become increasingly bigger the longer they remain in Qatar.