Germany got complacent, Japan took advantage of that: Wayne Rooney
Nov 24, 2022
Doha [Qatar], November 24 : Former England football star Wayne Rooney labelled Germany's play in the second half as complacent to which Japan took advantage and prevailed over them on Wednesday.
The former Manchester United player was speaking on Viacom18 Sports' FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 presentation and talked about the shock defeat of Germany to Japan.
Rooney stated the Japanese team was relentless in the second half and were a constant threat to Germany.
"Yeah, I didn't see that result coming. In the second half, fair play to Japan - they stayed in the game and were constantly a threat on the break. I think just before they scored the first goal actually when you have 'X' players talking about teams or players getting complacent. I think there were moments when the ball went down to challenge and you get a bit complacent, a bit arrogant and showing off a little bit and then you lose your concentration. Maybe that's what happened to Germany and Japan are a very humble country, they took advantage of that and in the end deserved the win," said Rooney.
Former Portugal player Luis Figo also spoke about how the result of the game surprised him.
"Well, for me it was a surprise after the first forty-five minutes because I think they performed well. I think the changes didn't bring anything positive for Germany and the changes in the Japan squad totally changed the dynamic of the team. It's just like Argentina - you lose the first game and now you're under pressure," stated Figo.
Earlier, Japan made a scintillating comeback to create a massive upset against Germany, defeating the four-time champions 2-1 in the group E match of the FIFA World Cup at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.
Germany were leading at the end of the first half but Japan scaled up their game in the second half, scoring in the 75th minute through Ritsu Doan and in the 83rd minute through Takuma Asano.
Takuma Asano was brought in as a substitution in the 57th minute and proved his mettle in the match as Japanese supporters yelled and cheered from the stands.
