Japan stuns European heavyweights
And Germany failed to make the knockouts for a second successive edition.
When Spain and Germany were paired in the same group after the World Cup draw, along with Japan and Costa Rica, Group E was termed as the ‘Group of Death.’ Spain and Germany were tipped as heavy favourites to qualify. Cut to the present, Japan and Spain advanced, and Germany failed to make the knockouts for a second successive edition. Japan’s group-stage campaign has been nothing short of a sports biopic that keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. The Group A topper shocked the world by beating both Germany and Spain, but itself got shocked after suffering a 1-0 loss against Costa Rica. Nonetheless, Hajime Moriyasu’s men showed that they are to be taken seriously and with respect.
Spain, which qualified as the group runner-up, started its campaign with a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica and looked like an early contender to top the group. Its game against Germany, as expected, was a closely contested draw (1-1), but the 2010 champion’s real shock came in its last group game as it suffered a 2-1 loss against Japan. Spain had 83% of the ball and had 1058 passes, compared to Japan’s 228.
Germany's nightmare run in the World Cup continues. After the shock group-stage exit in 2018, expectations were high from Hansi Flick’s team. Germany had a great chance to open its campaign strongly against Japan, a team ranked 13 places below it. But Japan had other ideas — Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano’s goals shocked Germany, and it succumbed to a 2-1 loss. A draw against Spain in the next match meant it needed to beat Costa Rica in its final match and depend on Spain beating Japan. It did beat Costa Rica, but Spain lost against Japan, which knocked out the Germans.
Most counted out Costa Rica after its heavy loss against Spain. However, it bounced back with a 1-0 win against Japan that wasn’t expected, considering the Asian side’s momentum after the win against Germany.
Costa Rica would have ensured qualification with a win against Germany in its last match. A draw would have been enough if Spain beat Japan. For a while, Costa Rica was on cloud nine after Manuel Neuer’s own goal gave it a 2-1 lead. However, the joy was shortlived as Kai Havertz equalised three minutes later, and Germany went on to win 4-2.