The Japan men’s football team created history on Wednesday in Qatar after they won 2-1 in the Group E fixture against football powerhouse Germany. The 2014 World Champion was humbled by the Japan team, which comes as the second big shocking result in the 2022 World Cup when Argentina were beaten by the Saudis.

Considered underdogs in the group, Germany were expected to easily sail through the match, which seemed even more likely when they got ahead by a goal thanks to a well-taken penalty by Manchester City’s Ikay Gundogan.

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However, Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored for Japan at the 75th and 83rd minutes respectively to give Japan a lead that the Germans could not topple even with seven minutes of added time.

Although Japan has shocked the world before, this is by far the biggest surprise the East Asian nation has ever produced. 

Here’s a look at their five shocking results of all time.

1. 2002 World Cup – Defeated Russia 1-0

Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup along with South Korea and produced a shocker when they defeated Russia 1-0 in a group-stage match. Junichi Inamoto scored the goal for Japan in the 51st minute of the Group H fixture which saw them stand the Russian pressure and emerge victorious. 

2. 2010 World Cup – Surprised Denmark 3-1

In the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa, Japan shocked the world and also announced themselves on the big stage when they defeated 1992 Euro Cup winners Denmark in the Group E fixture. Keisuke Honda, Yasuhito Endo and Shinju Okazaki scored for Japan while Jon Dahl Tomasson scored the only goal for the Danes at the 81st minute.

3. 2011 AFC Asian Cup – Defeated Australia 1-0

Japan defeated arch-rivals Australia at the AFC Asian Cup at the Al Khalifa stadium in Doha. Tadanari Lee scored the only goal in extra time.

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4. 2018 World Cup – Defeating Colombia 2-1

Considered a South American footballing powerhouse, Colombia were the favourites to win the Group H fixture against Japan. But the East Asian nation had different plans. 

They got in the match ahead thanks to a Shinji Kagawa penalty in the 6th minute but Colombia came back from behind to score in the 39th minute. However, after a long battle for the ball, Yua Osako scored in the 73rd minute which ensured that Japan took home all three points.

5. 2022 World Cup _ Defeated Germany 2-1

The recent win against Germany is a historic result for Japan, perhaps surpassing all previous achievements that they achieved in football. It showed that Japan has come a long way since hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and the football in the nation has really progressed in the last 15 years.