Highlights:
- Despite their victory against Costa Rica, Germany was eliminated from the competition, as Japan and Spain advanced to the round of 16.
- Spain and Japan advanced to the tournament’s knockout round, despite Japan’s victory against Spain (2-1).
- After a disastrous campaign in which they scored only once, Belgium was also evicted from the World Cup.
Japan won yet another remarkable victory after defeating Germany in their opener game, with their advancement from the “group of death” being considered one of the biggest successes in the country’s history in the Football realm.
On Thursday, Germany was eliminated from the World Cup for the second consecutive year after Spain was defeated by Japan 2-1 in a match that resulted in both teams advancing to the round of 16.
JAPAN BEAT SPAIN AND GERMANY TO ? THE GROUP ??? pic.twitter.com/avhFMyjiqL
— 433 (@433) December 1, 2022
Meanwhile, Japan’s Ritsu Doan wasted little time in celebrating after scoring his team’s opening goal against Spain in a World Cup group E world cup game at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
In the match against Spain, Takumo Asano scored in the 51st minute after Doan had tied the game in the 48th minute. It was a strike that will be talked about for a long time because of the uproar that followed it when it sent Japan into the knockout stages and, as a result, sent Germany back home.
After beating the defending champions in the first game of the tournament, it’d be the frosting on the cake for Doan to prevent them from advancing to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the second consecutive time.
The Germans were the defending champions when they were defeated in the opening round in Russia 4 years ago, and they had been defeated in the same manner in Qatar despite overcoming Costa Rica 4-2 in the previous round.
On the other side, Japan finished first in Group E after earning a victory against Spain by a score of 2-1. Japan ended with a total of six points after both of their matches, resulting in two victories out of a total of three. Both Spain and Germany finished with 4 points, but Spain was able to go on to the next round because of their superior goal difference.
Three different players scored for Germany: Kai Havertz scored twice, Sergi Gnabry scored once, and Niclas Fullkrg scored once. The score was 1-0 in Germany’s favour as the teams headed into the halftime break. In spite of this, Costa Rica scored twice in the first half, putting Germany in a hole that they had to climb out of before Germany fought back from the flanks and reclaimed their one-goal lead.
After that, they scored once more, bringing the final score to 4-2. In the other match, Alvaro Morata’s goal gave Spain an early lead after they had been scoreless for some time. Japan, though, scored twice in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory for themselves.
