The players of Japan and Spain reached the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar on Thursday, but the fight for medals has already ended for Germany.
Germany defeated Costa Rica 4:2 (1:0) in Group E, but it turned out to be the last game of the tournament for both teams.
Kai Kaverts scored two goals for Germany, Serzh Gnabry and Niklas Fillkrug scored one each. Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Vargas stood out for Costa Rica with accurate broadcasts.
Already in the third minute, Jamal Musiala dribbled into a good position, but his shot was caught right in the middle of the goal by goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
The Germans took the lead in the tenth minute, when Serzh Gnabrî headed the ball into the far corner of the goal from the edge of the goalkeeper’s area after a cross from the left by Dāvid Raum, – 1:0 in favor of Germany.
Although Germany had more opportunities to score goals, in the 43rd minute Keiser Fuller came close to scoring, first when Dávid Raum made a mistake in handling the ball, and then – Antonio Rīdiger. However, after going one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Fuller shot powerfully but over the bar.
In the 58th minute, Costa Rica had two good goal-scoring moments. First, Neier headed a dangerous Kendall Waston cross into the middle of the goal.
However, in the 58th minute, Neyer was forced to capitulate when Yeltsin sent the rebounded ball to him in the left corner of Teheda’s goal, – 1:1.
After that, Germany attacked more, but Juan Vargas scored in the 70th minute, who was also more careful in the German penalty area, sending the ball that got to him into the goal – 2:1 in favor of Costa Rica.
Three minutes later, Kaj Kavertz equalized the score by moving the ball over Navas, who had left the goal, from the penalty area – 2:2.
In the 85th minute, another goal was scored by Havertz, who completed Gnabry’s pass from the right side of the field with his foot from in front of the goal.
In the 89th minute, after Niklas Fillkrug’s kick from the front of the goal, the ball went into Costa Rica’s goal again, but the goal was counted only after watching the video replay, establishing that there was no backhand.
This game was important for Neuer, because with 19 matches he became the record goalkeeper of the World Cup. Brazilian Klaudiu Tafarel and Neier’s compatriot Zeps Maiers have each played 18 games in the World Cup finals.
Costa Rica and Germany had previously met only once, when in 2006 the German footballers won the World Cup final tournament with 4:2.
Spain lost to Japan 1:2 (1:0).
Alvaro Morata scored for Spain, while Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka stood out for Japan.
In the 12th minute, Cesar Azpilicueta crossed the ball near the right corner of the Japanese penalty area in front of the goal, where Alvaro Morata was the first to get to it, sending it past the goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda from close range, 1-0 in favor of Spain.
When the Spaniards were playing near their own goal, after goalkeeper Simon’s pass to the left to Alejandro Baldem, the ball was taken away from Baldem by Ricci Doans, who had entered the field in the 46th minute. He hit hard with his left foot from the corner of the penalty area. Simons touched the ball, but it flew into the right corner of the goal, and the Japanese equalized – 1:1.
As the Japanese fought to the last, the second goal fell three minutes later. The ball was won by Doan on the right side of the opponent’s penalty area, who sent it powerfully past the goal. Kaoru Mitoma, who entered the field in the second half, caught the ball on the left side of the goal and sent it past the goal, but Ao Tanaka sent it into the goal with a knee from half a meter in front of the goal.
Also, Spain and Japan had previously played only one mutual match, in which the Spaniards won a minimal success in 2001 in a test match.
In Group E, Japan won six points, Spain and Germany won four each, while Costa Rica finished with three points. Spain advanced to the Round of 16 thanks to a better goal difference (9-3), while Germany had it 6-5.
In the first match, Spain defeated Costa Rica 7-0, while Japan beat Germany 2-1. Spain and Germany then drew 1-1 in the second round, while Costa Rica beat Japan 1-0.
32 teams are divided into eight groups of four national teams each. The two best teams from each group advance to the round of 16 and continue the fight for the most prestigious football trophy.
Qatar is the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup. So far, one championship has been held in Asia, and it was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002.
This is also the first tournament to be held in late autumn, rather than the usual summer months due to the extreme heat in Qatar.
This is the last tournament in which 32 teams participate, as from the next World Cup in 2026, 48 national teams will start the competition.
In the final tournament of the 2018 World Cup, which was held in Russia, France became the champion, beating Croatia 4:2 in the decisive match.
