On July 10, Portugal beat hosts France in the Euro 2016 final. Portugal became the champion at first time in the World Cup and the European Championship. But if Japan participated in the Euro 2016, how was the result of them? This is a make-believe story.

■Episode.1   Japan participate urgent in the Euro 2016!

On June 1, UEFA called up to Japan Football Association. The contents of the phone call was that they wanted Japan team to participate in the Euro 2016. Because Wales was not able to participate, so UEFA were looking for other country. If Japan will participate, UEFA said that Japan’s victory or defeat is determined by the following rules.

That rules were;
・Japan enter the Group B, it is the same of Wales.
・Result of Japanese match is the same as the recent result in Friendly match or World Cup match.
・If the country has never play with Japan, Japan is winner.
・Except match of Japan, it is the same result as real Euro 2016.

Japan Football Association accepted these rules, so Japan national team went to France soon.

■Episode.2   How was the result of Group stage?

Japan entered the Group B, so played with Slovakia in 1st match. The result of recent matchup was that Japan won Slovakia in score of 3-1, july 2004. So Japan got 3 point.

In 2nd match, Japan Played with England. The result of recent matchup was that Japan losed England in score of 1-2, May 2010. So Japan did not get the point.

In 3rd match, Japan played with Russia. The result of recent matchup was that Japan won Russia in score of 1-0 at world Cup 2002. So Japan got 3 point. As the result, Japan got 6 point and advanced to the final round at the 1-position in Group B. The result was the same of real Wales!

■Episode.3   How was the result of final round?

Japan was the 1-position in Group B, so they play with Northern Ireland. Japan has never played with Northrn Ireland so according to the rules, Japan advanced to quarter-finals.

In quarter-finals, Japan played with Belgium. The result of recent matchup was that Japan won Belgium in score of 3-2 in November 2013. So Japan advanced to semi-finals.

In semi-finals, Japan played with Portugal. Japan has never played with Portugal, so Japan advanced to final!

Then, Japan played with France in final of Euro 2016. The result of recent matchup was that Japan won France in score of 1-0 in October 2012 at Saint-Denis. So Japan won Euro 2016 and became the champion of first time in Asian countries!

■Repletion of Story    Why was the replacement of Wales?

As a matter of fact, this is the only pattern that Japan keep winning in Euro 2016. Japan was about 50th in the FIFA Ranking and did not get many wins in the international match. So this is a miracle story, but many japanese have a dream that Japan team try to European Championship someday.

The fairy tale is over. Congratulations Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo!