Japan made a dramatic comeback with a 2-1 scoreline against Spain to win Group E and knock Germany out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Asian giants started the competition strong with a 2-1 upstream win over the Germans in their group stage opening match.
But defeat to Costa Rica would likely be the end of their chances, as they faced the 2010 World Cup champions, who beat the same opponent 7-0.
However, this messy group created a lot of complications as the matches played out simultaneously, with La Roja also dropping out of the top two at a point when Costa Rica took a 2-1 lead. before the 2014 world champion. Japan Defeat Spain and Germany in World Cup.
Ritsu Doan was the first to equalize matters before Ao Tanaka scored in the sixth minute in the second stanza. The second goal was controversial when Victor Gomes sent a call to the Video Assistant Referee, and it was considered a legitimate goal by the by-line technology. As expected, the Japanese were ecstatic and controlled the game when Spain did not have any more shots on target.
Serge Gnabry opened the scoring as they entered the break 1-0, but Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Pablo Vargas turned the game around when Costa Rica was in the lead. But Kai Havertz scored a brace to make it 3-2 and Niclas Füllkrug added a fourth win and sent Spain through to the group stage as runners-up, while they took an early flight home from Qatar. It is undoubtedly to raise big questions from the team, head coach Hansi Flick, and the DFB, who have dominated the world stage for the past eight years - having been knocked out by South Korea at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Japan has now set up a round-of-16 draw with 2018 runner-up Croatia, while Spain will face Morocco.
The Asian giants started the competition strong with a 2-1 upstream win over the Germans in their group stage opening match.
But defeat to Costa Rica would likely be the end of their chances, as they faced the 2010 World Cup champions, who beat the same opponent 7-0.
However, this messy group created a lot of complications as the matches played out simultaneously, with La Roja also dropping out of the top two at a point when Costa Rica took a 2-1 lead. before the 2014 world champion. Japan Defeat Spain and Germany in World Cup.
The Blue Samurai Slay Spain
Source: gettyimages
Ritsu Doan was the first to equalize matters before Ao Tanaka scored in the sixth minute in the second stanza. The second goal was controversial when Victor Gomes sent a call to the Video Assistant Referee, and it was considered a legitimate goal by the by-line technology. As expected, the Japanese were ecstatic and controlled the game when Spain did not have any more shots on target.
Germany slipped for the second time in a row, eliminated from the group stage.
Source: EPA/Ronald Wittek
Serge Gnabry opened the scoring as they entered the break 1-0, but Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Pablo Vargas turned the game around when Costa Rica was in the lead. But Kai Havertz scored a brace to make it 3-2 and Niclas Füllkrug added a fourth win and sent Spain through to the group stage as runners-up, while they took an early flight home from Qatar. It is undoubtedly to raise big questions from the team, head coach Hansi Flick, and the DFB, who have dominated the world stage for the past eight years - having been knocked out by South Korea at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Japan has now set up a round-of-16 draw with 2018 runner-up Croatia, while Spain will face Morocco.