Japan pulled their Qatar World Cup campaign out of the fire with another come-from-behind win over a soccer superpower, beating Spain 2-1 on Thursday to earn a place in the round of 16.
After another first half in which his team were completely outplayed, Hajime Moriyasu called on super sub Ritsu Doan to again save the day at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Doan did his part, echoing his role in Japan’s 2-1 comeback win over Germany to open their tournament. The Freiburg attacker more than answered Alvaro Morata’s early first-half goal, netting a stunning equalizer and following with a cross that led to Ao Tanaka scoring the Samurai Blue’s second.