The Japan midfielder, who performs for German crew Freiburg, needed to grit his enamel when he heard folks saying his crew can be a simple opponent for Germany on the World Cup.

“I listened to their talks with a fake smile on my face and in my heart,” the 24-year-old Doan mentioned Thursday after sparking a outstanding comeback and arguably the largest lead to Japan’s World Cup historical past the evening earlier than.

After coming into within the 71st minute, Doan solely wanted 4 minutes to cancel Ilkay Gündogan’s first-half penalty with the equalizer, then he watched as fellow substitute Takuma Asano bagged the winner within the 83rd for Japan’s 2-1 win.

“I thought it was the coolest thing I could do as a man to shut them up by winning, so I’m glad I won and so could do that,” Doan mentioned.

皆さん熱い声援ありがとうございました！
一喜一憂することなく次準備していきます。共に新しい景色を見ましょう！@JFA @FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/i2AR6trzng

— Ritsu Doan/堂安 律 (@doan_ritsu) November 23, 2022

The shock win over the four-time champion set off wild celebrations from the sizeable contingent of Japanese followers on the Khalifa International Stadium and prompted outpourings of pleasure from followers watching the objectives on massive screens at house.

“I think that the whole of Japan was very excited,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned. “I was able to watch the game on TV and it was a great victory.”

Kishida paid tribute to the “team power, individual power and the direction of the coach.”

Japan ahead Daizen Maeda mentioned it was “the happiest moment I have ever had in my football career.”

While Japan celebrated what coach Hajime Moriyasu referred to as a “a historic moment, a historic victory” instantly after the sport, the previous midfielder struck a extra cautious word the following day as he tried to refocus the aspect for the following match in opposition to Costa Rica on Sunday.

“I keep saying that we should not be too happy or sad about the results,” the coach mentioned Thursday. “The result against Germany is already in the past, so we will do our best to prepare ourselves to win the next match. We will do what we have always been doing and be ready for the next game.”

Costa Rica’s marketing campaign on the World Cup began with a 7-0 thrashing from Spain.

Japan can theoretically even ebook its place within the second spherical with a win on Sunday, relying on a favor from Spain in opposition to Germany.

Japan is enjoying in its seventh straight World Cup and Moriyasu beforehand mentioned the crew’s purpose is to succeed in the quarterfinals for the primary time.

Even Doan has toned down his pleasure as he appears to be like ahead to the challenges forward.

“We haven’t changed history yet, but I think it was a historic match, so I celebrated with all my teammates yesterday,” Doan mentioned. “But from today, I really changed my mind and am preparing for the Costa Rica game, so I will be careful not to be big-headed.”

Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo obtained a flood of calls and emails from family and friends after the sport.

“So I really feel that this was a historic victory,” Nagatomo mentioned. “I will be happy if this will help liven up football again and improve the popularity of the sport. We have only won one game, so I want to focus on the next game.”

Whatever occurs for the remainder of the match, Nagatomo mentioned the win over Germany was “one of the best experiences in my football career.”