World Cup: the joy of the Moroccans and the Japanese, the tears of the Germans and the Belgians … What to remember from Thursday, December 1

Tension and strong moments: this day of the third and last meeting of groups E and F was especially filled with emotions.

Big losers: Belgium and Germany.

Arriving with big ambitions, the two European selections will not make it to the 1/8 finals. For the Germans, this is the second time in two world championships after 2018. Nevertheless, Germany fulfilled its mission of the day by dominating Costa Rica (4-2). However, it wasn’t easy. Keylor Navas’ partners did fall behind between 70th and 73rd and then found themselves in a position to qualify. Finally, the decisive blow for Germany was the stunning victory of the Japanese over Spain (2:1).

The Belgians thought they could get away with it. At the end of the match, the qualifying balls, in particular in extra time, went to Romelu Lukaku. But the striker completely missed these opportunities and found himself between rage and despair, comforted by Thierry Henry, a member of the Diables Rouges staff.

Productivity: Japan has the resources

For the second time in the competition, the Japanese won the game after falling behind at half time. After knocking out Germany, they did it again against Spain, winning 2-1 each time. Only two teams have achieved this result in the same World Cup: Brazil in 1938 and Germany in 1970.

Suggestion: “We wanted to make history! We are happy for the Moroccan people and for the players! »

Morocco coach Walid Regragui after his team finished first in their group with 7 points. :

VAR interventions that ask a question

Twice this Thursday, the use of VAR left an impression of misunderstanding. Firstly, this offside is reported against Croatian Lovren in the 17th minute, while the detector images show only a slight advance of his shoulder compared to that of the Belgian defender.

Then there was this Japanese action in the 51st minute which led to Japan’s second goal, a 2-1 victory over Spain and indirectly to Germany’s relegation, provided of course that Japan and Spain shared the points.

Quantity: 1

The first own goal was scored at this World Cup. It was the Moroccan Agerd who surprised his goalkeeper by parrying the Canadian with a score of 2:1. It was also the 100th goal since the start of the competition.

Referee: Stephanie Frappart

FIFA welcomed the “moment” of separation. Correctly. This Thursday, the French referee became the first woman to head a World Cup match. And during Costa Rica, Germany mastered the debate to perfection.

Chambering: when beIN tickles TF1

“France-Poland Round of 16 to live live and until the last moment on beIN Sports”. In the trailer, the Qatari channel took down TF1 after a mix-up with a premature antenna rendering the day before during France-Tunisia (0-1).