Japan’s stumble gives Germany fresh World Cup hope
— Costa Rica snatched a dramatic late winner against Japan on Sunday to blow their World Cup group wide open and ease the intense pressure on embattled Germany.
Japan, who shocked four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their opener in Qatar, could have taken a giant stride towards the last 16 with a win.
But they laboured for large parts of their game against a Costa Rica side who were hammered 7-0 by Spain, and were made to pay when defender Keysher Fuller scored in the 81st minute with a deflected strike.
The result left Spain, Japan and Costa Rica all level on three points in Group E, with Spain facing Germany in the late kick-off on Sunday.
“We weren’t dead yesterday and now we are still very much alive,” said Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez, whose team will play Germany on Thursday.
“Nobody can forget about us yet so we can still dream.”
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu, whose side face Spain in a daunting final group game, still fancies their chances of reaching the knockout rounds.
“Of course Spain will be tough but there is a good chance for us to win,” he said. “We will be well prepared and will go into the match with confidence.”
Japan’s defeat means Germany can breathe a huge sigh of relief, knowing they can now lose to Spain and still qualify for the knockout stage if results go their way in the final round of matches.
The prospect of an early German exit — four years after bowing out at the same stage at the 2018 finals in Russia — was practically unthinkable before the tournament.
Germany coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday his team had the quality to bounce back against a Spain team who obliterated Costa Rica.
“We have a team that has quality, that can implement the things (we are working on), and we are very positive about it,” Flick said.
“We need to arrive with courage and with faith in our quality for this game against Spain.”
Spain coach Luis Enrique said his team faced a “beautiful challenge” as they chase a win that will put them on the brink of the last 16.
Luis Enrique cautioned, however, that Germany’s World Cup pedigree — they won their fourth title in 2014 — meant nothing could be taken for granted.
“I have a lot of respect for their players, they are world class, and their history is there to see,” he said.
Belgium in trouble
Belgium’s hopes of qualifying from Group F took a severe blow as they suffered a surprise 2-0 loss to Morocco.
A victory for Belgium would have sent them through but Romain Saiss and Zakaria Aboukhlal’s late goals instead secured Morocco a first World Cup win in 24 years.