GROUP E
▲Cameroon 0 - 1 Japan
Bleary-eyed Japanese fans were pinching themselves yesterday after the Blue Samurai’s 1-0 World Cup win over Cameroon.
Photos of Keisuke Honda’s winning goal were splashed across front and back pages of the country’s newspapers while TV and radio talk shows were buzzing about Japan’s first World Cup win on foreign soil.
“Honda’s Victory Bullet,” screamed the Sankei Sports, while the Nikkan Sports went minimalist under the headline “Honda!” in huge blue Chinese characters.
Several newspapers carried pictures of Honda being carried on the shoulders of his teammates.
Cutting a slightly forlorn figure at the back trying to get closer to Japan’s new golden boy is the team’s most-recognizable figure, Shunsuke Nakamura, recently relegated to the bench.
“The key players were Honda and [Daisuke] Matsui,” former Japan coach Philippe Troussier said, pointing out the two players involved in Japan’s winner.
“Matsui with his great experience in Europe and Honda with his Champions League experience had a strong impact. No one took Japan seriously,” he said.
“The Cameroon players seemed so arrogant ... seemed to take the Japanese as a weak team,” Troussier said.
Japan fans watched their team’s Group E opener in high spirits, some faking terror every time center-back Tulio touched the ball after two recent own goals.
“Oh no! Tulio!” shrieked 23-year-old florist Miki Sato during the match, which finished shortly before 1am local time. “Keep Tulio away from the ball!”
However, the man who scored own goals in Japan’s warm-up losses to England and Ivory Coast, won media praise for shackling Cameroon star Samuel Eto’o.
Even Japan’s conservative broadsheet press appeared to have caught World Cup fever.
The Asahi newspaper carried the headline “Door to a New Era” while the Mainichi perhaps got a little too carried away, calling Japan’s victory an “Easy Win” across the top of its sports page.
“It’s so cool,” said bar owner Eiji Takahashi after kicking out the last of the revelers as the sun began to rise over Tokyo’s Shibuya district.
“I thought Japan were complete duffers,” he said. “It wasn’t a great game but at least we’ve won a game. Maybe we can do a number on Holland in the next game!”
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