Jubilant supporters of Japan's World Cup squad taught the world an important lesson.
Following their team's 2-1 shock defeat of four-time World Cup champions Germany in the opening match in Qatar on Wednesday (November 23), the fans showed a remarkable display of sporting discipline — an almost instinctive move to cleanup the Khalifa International Stadium.
Fans of the winning Japanese team collected their trash into bags and making sure the stadium was as clean when they left as it when they arrived. It turned out it wasn't just the fans.
The scenes both in the players' changing room and at home were no less fascinating.
Following the game, the players themselves tidied up their changing room before they left, a move that caught FIFA's attention. A tweet from organiser's official handle shows the Japanese locker room at Khalifa International Stadium.
Among the stacked water bottles and layers of carefully-folded towels, there were 11 origami cranes and a message written in Japanese that simply said “Thank you.”
And it was not just the fans or their amazing players in Qatar. Remarkably, when it became clear that Japan had beaten Germany, fans back home erupted in spontaneous celebration on the streets, but were careful not to block traffic amid the joyful julibation.
Germany's shocking defeat by Japan is the tournament's second significant upset — and it has boosted the stocks of a plethora of Japanese companies, from video game developers to sporting goods manufacturers.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's late-game victory over Argentina won the entire country a public holiday.
