Japan's Kishida Calls National Football Team's Victory Over Spanish Players 'Historic'

Japan's Kishida Calls National Football Team's Victory Over Spanish Players 'Historic'

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2022) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday called the national football team's 2-1 victory over Spain at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar "historic" and said he was watching the game from the middle of the first half.

"I also started watching from early in the morning, and I am very glad of this historic victory. I personally called the coach of the national team, (Hajime) Moriyasu, to express my joy and thank him for giving the Japanese people courage. I hope that both the coach and the team will continue to make efforts to win the next games," Kishida told a briefing, as quoted by public Japanese broadcaster NHK.

On Thursday, the group match between Japan and Spain, held at the Khalifa Stadium, ended 2-1 in Japan's favor, with the latter team scoring three points and advancing to the playoffs of the tournament. The Japanese team lost its match against Costa Rica, receiving zero points, but won its game against Germany, which gave the team another three points.

As a result, Japan topped its group with a total of six points, Spain came second with four points, while Germany and Costa Rica crashed out of the world cup.

The Japanese football team will play against Croatia on December 5 at the Al Janoub Stadium.