World Cup: crazy evening, Japan and Spain in 8th place, Germany in the trap

We were emotional this Thursday due to the tight 0-0 end of the match between Belgium and Croatia, especially when the Belgian striker Lukaku scored the qualifying goals in the very last minutes. Then, especially with the qualification of Morocco, unexpectedly the first from group F.

In front of their TVs, between the two songs, to celebrate their achievement, the Moroccans watched two Group E matches to recognize their opponent in the 1/8 finals. The Croats were also waiting. It would be an understatement to say that they had to go through all the emotions as the results and twists in the classification of this undecided group developed.

As a result, Japan beat Spain (2:1), and Germany – Costa Rica (4:2). No way… Germany takes a backseat and allows Japan and Spain to join the Round of 16 where they will face Croatia (Monday at 4pm) and Spain (Tuesday at 4pm) respectively next week.

For the second consecutive FIFA World Cup, Germany is eliminated from the group stage. The outcome is brutal for the Germans, who have the same number of points as the Spaniards, but worse goal difference. I must say that the stunning success of the Spaniards against Costa Rica (7:0) in the first match gave Luis Enrique’s squad a big, far from dashing head start.

The Germans were only able to qualify after an early opening goal from Gnabry (10th). But when Japan equalized with Spain after the break (1-1, 48th), then immediately took advantage (2-1, 51st) after a goal that was long studied by VAR due to strong suspicion in the limit of the field, crossed ball, things got complicated. Especially when Costa Rica Keylor Navasa scored again (1-1, 58th) and then took the lead (2-1, 70th). At this point, the Costa Ricans were second in the group, thus knocking out Spain and Germany from afar! Unfortunately for them, the Germans quickly dashed their hopes by equalizing (2-2, 73rd) before being eliminated at the end of the game. But this success would do them no good, for at the same time Spain was unable or unwilling to return to Japan.

When Stephanie Frappart, the first woman to referee a World Cup match, signaled the end of a match in which she was flawless, it was already too late: the Japan-Spain match was over. We saw crying German fans in the stands. Finally, Mannschaft will be talked about for the first time for the extra sportsmanship with those hands at the mouth ahead of the first match against Japan (1-2) to protest the “One Love” armband ban. The only other satisfaction will be the stunning midfielder Jamal Musiala, who is only 19 years old. And who today is the only reason for the team’s hope for eternal reconstruction.