Germany vs Costa Rica
On Thursday night, Group ‘E’ came to a tense conclusion with Spain advancing despite losing to Japan and Germany exiting after defeating Costa Rica 4-2.
At the Al Bayt Stadium, Germany had put tremendous pressure on Costa Rica. However, two minutes before the hour, Yeltsin Tejada equalised the score by acting quickly after Manuel Neuer had parried a header.
When Juan Pablo Vargas gave Costa Rica the lead in the 70th minute of a match in which Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart became the first female referee to supervise a match at the men’s World Cup, the crowd went wild. However, Germany, who had taken the lead in the 10th minute on a header from Serge Gnabry, quickly equalised the score thanks to Kai Havertz.
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Spain Vs Japan
With five minutes remaining, Havertz scored again, heading in a cross from Gnabry. In the 89th minute, Niclas Fuellkrug made it 4-2; nevertheless, Germany still needed Spain to score a goal to tie the score. That didn’t happen, and Japan secured first place after defeating Spain 2-1. Spain advanced based on goal differential.
Alvaro Morata’s 11th-minute goal gave Spain the advantage, but Japan quickly turned the tide with two goals in three minutes from Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka, who first tied the score in the 48th minute and then gave them the lead.