In Tokyo’s trendy Shibuya, elated supporters streamed out of sports bars after the final whistle at around 1am local time, the sound of horns and “Nippon” chants filling the streets as they converged upon the district’s iconic pedestrian scramble.

Before the tournament, Japan had been given little chance of surviving the group stage. but a shock win over Colombia and a draw with Senegal put them on track for their third trip to the World Cup’s last 16.

“Congratulations on advancing to the knockout stage!” Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said in a tweet. “You can do it in the next one too, Japan!”

Still, the way Japan advanced left a bad taste in the mouth of some supporters, who felt the team had abandoned their Samurai Blue spirit of playing hard until the end no matter what.

With Colombia beating Senegal 1-0, Japan knew they would qualify second in their group on the strength of having fewer yellow cards than Senegal and so were content to play the final several minutes passing around the ball to run down the clock.

“I was so excited before the game. They needed a draw, but I really wanted them to win. So I’m embarrassed by the way they were happy to just accept the loss,” said Makiko Totsuka, a 30-year-old musician who watched with her friends in a bar.

“Japan’s style of play in the second half was a little disappointing,” said 22-year-old student Takeaki Sudo, who watched the game at home with his family. “I thought they’d play their Japan style of football and get a win.”

Japan will face Belgium in the last 16.