Japan's national team made their fan heart beating fast. Playing against Poland in Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Thursday night (28/06/2018), Blue Samurai team lost 0-1.

There was no reaction of joy shortly after referee Janny Sikazwe (Zambia) blew the final whistle of the last match in Group H for the two teams.

Yuto Nagatomo et al. still have to wait for the results of the other match in Group H, bringing Senegal counter Colombia. When the game of Japan vs Poland ended, Colombia still lead 1-0 over Senegal.

Shortly thereafter, Japan was declared qualified for the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup. Japan advanced to the big 16th phase with a different path from other teams that had already sealed the tickets to the knockout phase.

Japan's national team became the first contestant in the history of the World Cup, which ensured qualification for the top 16 with the advantage of fair play tally points. Specifically, determined by yellow card collected.

In determining the team's final ranking within a group, FIFA applies the following order:

The first, points. Second, goal difference. Third, the number of scores (if there is the same team). Fourth, points among related teams. Fifth, goal difference between related teams.

Then the sixth, the number of goals scored among the related teams. Seventh, fair play points. And the eighth, the lottery.

Senegal's Bitter Notes

In the case of the Japan national team, of the three Group H matches, Samurai has the same points as the one Senegal collected, four. The goal difference of both teams is also the same, zero, because enter four goals but enter four goals.

That way, the determination of using a fair play point system is applied. Japan excel because in three games, they only collect four yellow cards while Senegal, six yellow cards.

As a rule, a yellow card gets one point, two yellow cards get three points, a straight red card gets four points, and five points for two yellow cards followed by a red card. Points are then accumulated to get the team that collects the fewest points.

Japan also sealed a ticket to the last 16 with Colombia, who eventually came out as Group H winners thanks to a 1-0 win over Senegal. Colombia packed six points, followed by Japan (4), Senegal (4), and Poland as caretaker (3).

On the other hand, Senegal also carve history as well as the Japanese national team. Only, Senegal will be remembered as the first team in the World Cup that was eliminated due to the implementation of fair play points.