Fans of Japan’s World Cup soccer team might be forgiven for acting a little raucous following their squad’s 2-2 draw against the Netherlands on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Instead, as is their custom, they spent their time post-match picking up trash at AT&T Stadium in large plastic bags.
Daichi Kamada knotted the score in dramatic fashion, positioning for a deflection off a Koki Ogawa header to rescue a point against the much larger Netherlands squad.
The two highest-ranked squads in Group F settled for the draw, though for Japan, which trailed twice in the second half, it no doubt felt like more of a victory to draw even.
Fans caught in the euphoria of the moment did not forget to engage in what has become a tradition for the side supporting Japan. Eight years ago, at the World Cup in Russia, Japan fans went viral for picking up litter, even after a difficult loss that ended their stay at the event.
Four years later at Qatar, Japanese fans were likewise documented picking up their surroundings, though those circumstances were positive rather than negative — Japan won Group E with victories against Germany and Spain.
“For Japanese people, this is just a normal thing to do,” Hajime Moriyasu, coach of the 2022 team, told The Athletic. “When you leave a place, you have to leave it cleaner than it was before.”
On Sunday, fans even had help from an unlikely source, NFL quarterback Jameis Winston, covering the event as a correspondent for FOX.
The spirit of humbleness on display was fully captured by the New York Giants backup signal-caller, though he didn’t limit his interactions only to Japan. Winston also participated in a pregame chant and singalong with Dutch supporters outside the stadium.
–Field Level Media
