Japan kicked-off their FIFA World Cup in stunning fashion after recovering from a goal down to overcome four-time winners Germany with an incredible 2-1 victory, marking their seventh consecutive finals appearance in style.
Kai Havertz had the ball in the back of the net for Germany again, but his effort was ruled out for offside in first-half stoppage time following a VAR review.
Jamal Musiala was the youngest National player to feature at a World Cup since Karl-Heinz Schnellinger in 1958, and he nearly added his name to the scoresheet after the break when he weaved his way through the Japan defence, but shot just over the target.
Musiala then turned provider for Gündoğan, whose attempt clipped the post as Japan became increasingly under pressure.
Less than 10 minutes later, Takuma Asano latched onto an innocuous-looking long ball forward and rifled home a finish past Neuer to seal their first-ever win over a stunned Germany.
It was a result to rival Saudi Arabia’s shock 2-1 win over Argentina the previous day, and ended Germany’s 21-match unbeaten run in World Cup matches when leading at HT, after failing to exorcise the ghosts of their 2018 group stage exit.
