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What Senegal and Japan fans did after their World Cup wins was just incredible

Japan and Senegal fans showed true class after their wins.
Japan and Senegal fans showed true class after their wins.

Senegal and Japan fans showed real class after opening their World Cup campaigns with victories.

Both teams ran out 2-1 winners over Poland and Colombia respectively and had plenty of reasons to party at full-time.

But instead of going wild in the stands and then going off to celebrate on the streets of Russia, some supporters decided to stay behind and help clean up litter.

Their actions touched the hearts of the world on social media as they were praised for their efforts and representing the game in a positive light.

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Senegal’s triumph came with a tinge of controversy as M’Baye Niang netted by latching onto a poor back-pass having just been waved back onto the field after treatment.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny came rushing out of his goal and was left embarrassed as Niang knocked the ball past him to score.

An own goal from Poland’s Thiago Cionek had given the Lions of Teranga the lead and they found the net at the right end with a consolation from Grzegorz Krychowiak.

“We know Africa supports us,” goalscorer Niang said.

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“If we can make all the other African nations proud, that is twice as glorious. We’re thinking of our journey, trying to write our own story but if we can inspire the others, that’s a greater honour for us.”

Japan’s somewhat surprising win over Colombian was followed by their fans carrying out cleaning duties with plastic bin bags they had brought into the stadium in similarly heart-warming scenes.

Japan-based football writer Scott McIntyre told the BBC that cleaning up after themselves is something that is drilled into these supporters from a young age back home.

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“It’s not just part of the football culture but part of Japanese culture,” McIntyre said.

“You often hear people say that football is a reflection of culture. An important aspect of Japanese society is making sure that everything is absolutely clean and that’s the case in all sporting events and certainly also in football.”