Germany out of World Cup by razor-thin margin thanks to Japan’s second goal in upset win over Spain
Germany #Germany
Group E of the World Cup reached a frantic conclusion on Thursday as four-time champions Germany were bounced from the group stage as Japan won the group with a shocking 2-1 victory over Spain. The Spanish advanced as the second-place team.
Germany trailed Los Ticos 2-1 and rallied for a 4-2 victory, but it did not matter as Hansi Flick’s men needed Spain to beat or tie Japan for them to have any chance. The Germans have now been eliminated in the group stage in back-to-back World Cups.
The day began with the most conceivable path being for Germany to win and have Spain beat Japan, but as things played out, there came a moment where Spain getting a goal in extra time would have put Germany through and sent Japan home.
The Spain vs. Japan game gave us a moment that may just be tattooed in our brains for the rest of our lives. It came right before Ao Tanaka scored what would be the winning goal, and as the ball was headed out of bounds, Kaoru Mitoma got a touch on it, seemingly keeping it in for Tanaka to finish.
The ball looked like it went out, and it even had former World Cup ref Mark Clattenburg fooled on the Fox broadcast, who suggested the call would be overturned. But it wasn’t. It stood, and it was quite the surprise. Here’s the video of the goal:
Just look at how close this one. It seems like there might be a little bit of grass between the ball and the line? It was really tough to tell.
Japan, meanwhile, pulled off one of the crazier group stage performances we’ve ever seen, beating contenders Spain and Germany but losing to a below-average Costa Rica team. As a result, Japan will face Croatia in the round of 16, while Spain will take on Morocco.
Just another day at the 2022 World Cup.
Final Group E table
Japan
3
2-0-1
+1
6
Spain
3
1-1-1
+6
4
Germany
3
1-1-1
+1
4
Costa Rica
3
1-0-2
-8
3
Final Group F table
Morocco
3
2-1-0
+3
7
Croatia
3
1-2-0
+3
5
Belgium
3
1-1-1
-1
4
Canada
3
0-0-3
-5
0
World Cup results
Thursday, Dec. 1
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