The European Championship semi-final saw Spain beat France 2-1 to advance to the final. In Japanese media, however, this unexpectedly ignited a celebration of national team coach Hajime Moriyasu. Japan had defeated Spain in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and under Moriyasu, Japan also previously beat France. This has led to widespread claims amongst Japanese netizens that Japan is the strongest team.
Japanese sports website Oriental Sports began by praising Spain’s overall performance. In the European Championship semi-final that ended this morning, Spain overcame an early deficit to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Yamal and Olmo, securing their place in the final. They will face the winner of the Netherlands versus England match. Spain’s performance thus far has been impressive, having won all three of their group matches and eliminating hosts Germany in the quarter-finals, truly worthy of being called the “Invincible Armada”.
On the other hand, this victory has also spurred a chorus of praise for Moriyasu from Japanese keyboard warriors. This is because, in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Japan defeated both Germany and Spain. Moreover, under Moriyasu, the Japanese team has also beaten France. If Spain eventually wins the tournament, Moriyasu’s reputation will only be further elevated. The media then quoted some comments from Japanese netizens.
Other Japanese netizens expressed, “It’s great to see that Moriyasu, the coach who beat Spain, is the strongest coach on Earth.”
Another Japanese netizen took the opportunity to imagine, “If Moriyasu led the Japanese team to the European Championship, I hope he says in a post-game interview back in Japan that we are the European Champions.”
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