Typhoon Hagibis nearly stopped this match from taking place at all. But the Brave Blossoms’ win galvanised the tournamentAnd what did you hear in the silence that fell over Yokohama Stadium before kick-off that Sunday night? Grief and sorrow, yes, for the wounded and dead, pain, pride and defiance, surely, and hope, too. Whatever it was, exactly, that all those Japanese fans and players were thinking about in that short minute, you could at least be sure of this – it all felt foreboding for the Scottish team lining up next to them. The Scots wanted this match, which both teams needed to win. They had rowed and shouted about it, and roped in lawyers to give them advice about their rights if it was cancelled, and now it was here, at last, as scheduled, and they were about to find out just how much
Japan wanted it too.
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