Japan defeated the US 41-20 at the IFAF U20 World Junior Championships.
The shocking upset drew a fierce reaction from American football fans on social media, and several of them wondered what had happened.
"The beginning of the game was good for us, but then, after that, the energy of the U.S. team gave them a chance to fight back, but we were able to answer every time they scored," head coach Makato Ohashi said, via the IFAF website.
The victory gave Japan its first crack at a gold medal.
"I’ve got to give Japan a lot of credit because they won both sides of the line of scrimmage," U.S. head coach Mike Kelly said, according to the website. "Their defensive line was better than our offensive line, and their offensive line was better than our defensive line. And that’s what it came down to.
12-minute clip...game highlights
Japan TD run...
