A very tidy win for Japan.
Japan supporters in Qatar have been pictured picking up rubbish after their side’s remarkable win over Germany on Wednesday.
In their opening game of the World Cup, Japan beat four-time champions Germany 1-0 in arguably the biggest result of their footballing history.
But despite the huge upset and jubilant celebrations, their fans still found time to clean up litter in the stands after full-time.
Supporters in football shirts were seen armed with bottles and blue waste bags as they tidied up the stadium.
All of the fans clutched numerous bags to collect the rubbish and weaved through each row to make sure the stadium was tidy.
Another image showed security officials standing next to the supporters as they tidied up, with many of them appearing to smile.
Even though this was Japan’s first game at the tournament, this isn’t the first time their fans have helped with the clean-up operation at the World Cup.
Japan fans were spotted cleaning litter up after the opening game of the World Cup between Qatar and Ecuador on Sunday.
Footage of the clean-up crew shows them going row to row picking up discarded food and drink containers and placing them into plastic bags.
The video was taken by influencer Omar Al-Farooq from Bahrain who shared it on Instagram.
In the footage, Omar is heard asking the group: “Why are you doing this?”
One of the volunteer cleaners replies: “We are Japanese, and we do not leave rubbish behind us, and we respect the place.”
The supporters also picked up flags which had been thrown by the Qatari and Ecuadorian fans, saying the symbols “command respect”.
It’s a tradition that Japanese football fans have become known for. They won the hearts of fans all over the world at the 2018 World Cup in Russia when, despite a heartbreaking 3-2 knockout loss to Belgium, the ‘Samurai Blue’ supporters sifted through the aisles of the Rostov Arena to pick up discarded litter.
Headlines were also made before the Germany v Japan game as well as after it, with the German players protesting against FIFA’s decision to ban the One Love armbands by covering their mouths for the team photo before the game.
