Japan defeats Germany: Another massive upset!

I have written in the past about how I don't particularly care for watching football / soccer and how the World Cup, while super-meaningful to the rest of the world doesn't really mean that much to me. That being said I have a friend that invites me to come and see some of the games and since I like hanging out with the friend, I will go.

I also have always had a soft spot in me for Asian teams or individuals competing in non-Olympic competitions for some reason. I think it has to do with the level of respect that appears to exist with the average Japanese person and their reputation for being very gracious guests but whatever the reason is, I want them to do well in competitions like these. Therefore, last night's game was pretty epic for the island nation of Japan.

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I celebrate their victory even though my own heritage is German. I am 4 generations removed from Germany though and my last German-speaking relative passed on to the afterlife when I was 2 years old so it isn't like we have a great deal of attachment to the German nation. It just happens to be our surname. Now I don't find German players to be as reprehensible as say, South American teams when it comes to diving and appealing for fouls, but they are known to do a bit of acting in that regard.

I wonder if the VAR system is kind of putting a stop to a lot of those shenanigans though and I am looking forward to people getting busted diving. At least thus far I am not aware of a "zero contact" dive that has taken place but there certainly has been a bit of acting such as the bit that resulted in Germany getting their penalty kick early in the game. I don't remember the dude's name that got tackled by the keeper but he was definitely not hurt. The keeper was actively trying to avoid him and just stumbled if you ask me.

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Late in the second half Germany must have smelled defeat because they did something that we rarely see in this sport: They pulled their keeper to the other end of the field during a free kick. This of course is a move of desperation reserved only for last-minute ditch efforts because it obviously leaves your own goal wildly wide open should anyone on the opposing team get a hold of the ball in open space. I was personally hoping for exactly that to happen not because I dislike Germany or anything silly like that but just because I like to see teams like Japan do well, especially when no one really expects them to.

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It's going to be really interesting to see how Germany and Saudi Arabia do in their next group stage games. Will they keep the momentum up and advance to the bracket stages? I think that this outcome is a lot more likely with Japan than Saudi Arabia but after these last two games, I think anything can happen and that is great. Sports are not as much fun when what everyone is expecting to happen does happen.