Japan stunned four-time world champions Germany in a Group E match on November 23, in what was undoubtedly the second-biggest upset of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Germany took a lead slightly earlier in the first half thanks to a penalty from Ilkay Gundogan. However, in the second half, Japan turned up the heat and scored two goals to secure a historic victory. However, Japanese fans have been gaining global applause following their heart-winning gesture after Wednesday’s tournament of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
A group of supporters of the Asian country who gathered at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha to witness the match, stayed back after the final whistle to clean up the garbage in the stands.
In a recent video shared on Twitter, fans wearing Japanese caps can be seen picking up water bottles and food parcels left by the crowd and depositing them in garbage bags.
This isn’t the first time Japanese fans have shown kindness after a game.
Following Qatar’s opening defeat to Ecuador in Doha on November 23, Japan fans at the Al Bayt Stadium made headlines after collecting bags of litter.
Omar Farooq, a Bahraini YouTube influencer with millions of subscribers, was left speechless after witnessing the act of kindness, which he documented for his Instagram followers. “Someone convince me that this is normal,” he said to his audience.
“We are Japanese, and we do not leave rubbish behind us, and we respect the place,” one fan told Farooq, who also joined in to help the Japanese.
Japan lost its World Cup opener to Ivory Coast 2-1 in 2014, but that didn’t stop fans from cleaning the stadium before leaving.
Fans were also seen cleaning stadiums during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, while the team left their changing room spotless.
It came after a heartbreaking defeat to Belgium, who came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. The squad did, however, leave a ‘Thank You’ message on the changing table.
