This photo does not show Japan's dressing room after their defeat to Costa Rica in the FIFA World Cup 2022 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 29, 2022
A photo is being widely shared on social media claiming it shows Japan’s dressing room after their 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica in the FIFA World Cup 2022. This picture shows a dressing room left dirty with garbage on the floor. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Japan Football team’s messy dressing room after their defeat to Costa Rica in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Fact: The photo shared in the post shows the state of the Italy Football team’s dressing room after their 1-0 defeat to North Macedonia in the FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff semi-final match in March 2022. The photo shared in the post is old and does not show Japan’s dressing room after their loss against Costa Rica in the FIFA World Cup 2022. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo is found in an article published by the ‘TPI’ news website on 27 March 2022. This news website reported it as the horrific state of the Italy Football team’s dressing room after their defeat to North Macedonia in the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match, held at the Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo.
Reporting the same, several news websites published articles in March 2022. They can be seen here, here and here. Italy was officially disqualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 after the 1-0 defeat to North Macedonia in the World Cup qualifying playoff semi-final match on 24 March 2022. Following the defeat to North Macedonia, Italy’s players and staff left the dressing room dirty with empty bottles, food waste and cigarette buts lying everywhere on the floor. The cleaning staff of the Stadio Renzo Barbera shot the videos and pictures of the state the Italy players left their dressing room. Following the incident, Italian Football player Leonardo Bonucci apologised on behalf of the Italian national team for the state they left their dressing room after the defeat to North Macedonia.
After the victory over Germany in the FIFA World Cup 2022, Japanese players left their rooms spotless and even made origami swans as a thank-you note to their hosts. Lately, there are no news reports confirming Japanese players leaving their dressing room dirty after the match with Costa Rica.
To sum it up, this photo does not show the Japanese Football team’s messy dressing room after their defeat to Costa Rica in the FIFA World Cup 2022.