Japan's Ritsu Doan enters Thursday's do-or-die 2022 FIFA World Cup game against Spain with intimate knowledge of his opponents and a moment of inspiration from which to draw confidence.
Doan and nine of his teammates in Qatar played against Spain in last year's Tokyo Olympic men's soccer semifinal, where at Saitama Stadium they suffered a 1-0 defeat that saw their gold medal aspirations dashed.
That familiarity apparently put Freiburg winger Doan in a confident mood ahead of the game that will determine Japan's World Cup future.