Kazuyoshi Miura returns to Qatar for first time since ‘agony of Doha’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:30 JST, November 25, 2022

Japanese soccer legend Kazuyoshi Miura was among the spectators in the stadium during Japan’s stunning victory over Germany at the World Cup on Wednesday – his first time back in Qatar since playing in a 1993 game known in Japan as the “agony of Doha.”

Japan narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 1994 World Cup after conceding a late equalizer to draw 2-2 with Iraq. However, Miura will have happier memories of his latest trip to Doha as the Samurai Blue defeated one of the title favorites and lived up to his hope they would “show how much Japan’s soccer has developed over the past 29 years.”

Miura sat with fellow former soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata in the stadium’s main stand.

Miura, known affectionately as “Kazu,” still plays for Japanese club Suzuka Point Getters.