As Belgium humbled
tournament after former coach Vahid Halilhodzic was fired and Regragui was brought in at the end of August, less than three months before the World Cup. Regragui had only three friendlies to make his mark on the team before facing Croatia at the World Cup.
In Group E, Germany forward Niclas Fullkrug salvaged a 1-1 draw against Spain.
The Germans still need to win their last group match to have a chance of advancing to the knockout stage. The four-time champions were eliminated in the group stage four years ago in Russia.
Germany will next face Costa Rica, who defeated Japan 1-0 yesterday. Even a win may not be enough for the Germans, who are in last place in Group E and need the other result to go their way.
Spain can reach the last 16 with a draw against Japan.
Alvaro Morata put Spain ahead in the 62nd minute and Fullkrug equalised for Germany in the 83rd.
The match between the pretournament favourites was one of the most anticipated in the group stage.
Spain tried to control the pace of the game with ball possession but weren’t able to create many opportunities, while Germany threatened sporadically with breakaways and set pieces.