Three in Ten

Japan had it won. Up 1-0 in the eightieth minute against Australia—should’ve been routine, but then it all fell apart. Three goals in the next ten minutes. Three. It was like watching one squad decide to stop playing while the other one stayed awake and noticed.

Everyone needed someone to blame. The Japanese media went after the referee—African guy, made some bad calls, easy scapegoat. Fans wanted Zico out. You need a head on a pike when something like that happens, something that explains it. But the real explanation was just that Japan stopped and Australia kept shooting until it didn’t matter anymore.

I waited a few days before writing this. If I’d done it right after, it would’ve been nothing but profanity and rage. Time helps. The referee probably was bad. Zico probably isn’t the guy. But mostly it was just one side giving up for ten minutes while another side was sharp enough to take advantage. Nothing complicated about it. Just stupid.