JAPAN'S UNLIKELY HERO, TAKUMA ASANO

Asano, who had been out of form for Bochum and was a controversial choice in the Japan squad, emerged as the hero of the team against Germany despite being out of form. In their opening match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, Japan stunned fans around the globe by pulling off an incredible upset, defeating four-time champions Germany 2-1 to win their first game of the tournament. Despite this, few would have predicted that Takuma Asano would score the winning goal and become the hero of the game in the process.
A high level of dominance on the part of Germany over Japan during the first half meant that the Japanese team was not just treading water, but in danger of drowning. As a result of Ilkay Gundogan's penalty, they were off to a good start in the match, and they would have doubled their lead but for a VAR decision in first-half added time. In the interval, the Samurai Blues looked all but out of it, as their opponents seemed to be running rampant as the teams went off.

Japan had a miraculous second half comeback, tearing up the script and re-discovering their warrior spirit as they took to the field again. After a memorable fightback and inspired substitutions, the tide finally turned in favor of the team. Asano, who was himself a substitute when Ritsu Doan equalized for the Japanese in the 75th minute, sent the Japan fans wild, and just eight minutes later, Asano, who was also a substitute, volleyed another angled shot past Manuel Neuer to give his team their first comeback victory in seven World Cup appearances.
Interestingly enough, three of the players in the two-goal salvo that turned Japan into giant-killers are German Bundesliga players who play in Germany's top league. All three players play in Germany, and most notably Doan, who scored the equalizer against Daichi Kamada, Wataru Endo, and Koh Itakura. Nevertheless, the winning goal by Asano is what really caught the German public and officials by surprise.

It is worth noting that Asano has had previous spells with Stuttgart and Hannover as well. Despite his impressive performance during the past five seasons in Germany - plus two years in Serbia with Partizan - his recent performances have been unremarkable. During his 61 appearances in the Bundesliga, he has scored only four goals. In spite of the fact that he played in the first six games of the league season for Bochum, he did not record any goals or assists, which was a game the team suffered their worst start to a season since 2004 with six consecutive losses. He was injured shortly after starting the match against Schalke on 10 September, and it would take him until the 2010 World Cup resumed before he was able to return to his regular position.
Asano has underperformed in the Bundesliga this season, and his absence from the squad due to injury led to criticism from his home fans when coach Kazu Moriyasu called him up for Qatar, despite his subpar performances in the Bundesliga. There were some who believed Kyogo Furuhashi of Celtic, who scored a goal at the previous edition in Russia, or Yuya Osako of Vissel Kobe, who scored a goal at the previous edition in Russia, were more deserving of a place in the squad.

Defending a high forward line and running a blistering run were probably to be expected of Asano's performance, but smashing the winning goal was not part of that expectation. It was a style that proved the doubters wrong in the end. When he raced onto a long ball, he controlled it perfectly before lashing a close range angled drive into the tiny gap between Neuer and his near post as he was sprinting.
It is unfortunate that despite Arsene Wenger signing him to Arsenal in 2016, he was never able to make his debut for the club. Lacking a work permit, he became a forgotten man as he was unable to find a job. In the meantime, even though he was back among the goals at Partizan, he clashed with the club and left under a cloud after a controversy with the club. In spite of the fact that Asano's career has been volatile by any standard, the performance he gave on this day will remain in the memory of Japanese football as well as the World Cup itself for the rest of his life.

By Rashmi Goel