Japan fans celebrate as Samurai Blue reach last 16

Japanese fans react on the street after the World Cup Group H soccer match Japan vs Poland, in Tokyo, Japan, June 29, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Soccer fans in Japan burst into celebration after their team advanced to the World Cup knockout round despite a 1-0 loss to Poland, exchanging high-fives and hugs in relief that they had squeezed through.

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