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Japan advanced to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup as 'group 1' by winning a come-from-behind victory over Spain in the 'Invincible Armada'.
With Spain advancing to the round of 16 in second place, Germany beat Costa Rica in a come-from-behind victory, but finished in third place and were eliminated from the group stage for the second consecutive tournament.
Japan conceded the first goal to Alvaro Morata of Spain in the first half in the third round of the Qatar World Cup group stage group E held at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on the 2nd Korea time, but thanks to consecutive goals in the second half, Japan won 2-1.
In the first match held at Khalifa Stadium, Japan, which became the main character of the surprise at the beginning of the tournament by beating Germany 2-1, lost 0-1 in the second match against Costa Rica, making it impossible to guarantee passing through the group stage.
However, the 'Blue Tournament' continued by defeating Spain, which was a candidate for first place in the group.
With 6 points, Japan advanced to the round of 16 as the top of the group, beating Spain (4 points), who had been in first place before this game.
In the round of 16, Japan will face Croatia, second in Group F, and Spain will face Morocco, first in Group F.
With 4 points from 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, Germany (+1) was only 3rd behind Spain (+6) on goal difference.
As a result, he became a victim of the 'Miracle of Kazan' caused by Korea and had the disgrace of being eliminated from the group stage for two consecutive tournaments following the 2018 Russian tournament, where he was eliminated at the bottom.
Japan, which has reached the World Cup finals for the seventh time in a row, advanced to the round of 16 for the fourth time in its career, following Korea-Japan in 2002, South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018.
In particular, advancing to the round of 16 for two consecutive World Cups is the first Asian country's record.
In addition, this is the second time that an Asian team has passed the group stage in first place at the World Cup, after Korea in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Japan, which stopped in the round of 16 when it passed the group stage three times before, is now challenging to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in history.
Spain finished second and advanced to the round of 16, but suffered their first loss of the tournament, denting their pride before going into a single game.
Spain recorded 4 wins and 1 draw in the World Cup group stage, but was caught for the first time by an Asian country, and suffered its first defeat throughout the finals, other than losing to Korea in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Spain took the lead first.
In the 11th minute of the first half, Cesar Azpilicueta delivered an accurate cross from the right corner of the penalty area, and Alvaro Morata surged through the defense and headed it.
In the first match against Costa Rica and the second match against Germany, Morata, who was substituted in the second half and started scoring consecutively, opened the goal on the day he started and scored three consecutive goals.
In the group stage of this tournament, Morata is the second player to score three goals in a row after Cody Hagpo of the Netherlands.
While Spain dominated the game with an overwhelming ball possession of close to 80%, Japan, which focused on defense, was placed in a more burdensome situation as three center backs, including captain Maya Yoshida, were cautioned in the first half.
After halftime, Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu removed Takefusa Kubo and Yuto Nagatomo, who had been placed in the attacking line, and started an aggressive substitution card by putting in Ritsu Doan and Kaoru Mitoma. I got lost in the fog.
With Japan's strong forward pressure, the Spanish defense was constantly uneasy about handling the ball, and Doan received Ito's header pass and balanced it with a left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty arc.
Japan, which gained momentum, even scored a come-from-behind goal three minutes later.
Mitoma connected Doan's pass from the right side of the penalty area, and Ao Tanaka pushed it in, turning the tide of the game in an instant.
After a video review (VAR) was conducted to see if Mitoma crossed the line before raising the ball, it was judged that it did not go out completely, and the goal was recognized.
Afterwards, Spain tried to counterattack with replacement cards such as Marco Asensio, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, and Jordi Alba, but in the 45th minute of the second half, Dani Olmo's right-footed shot from the right side of the goal was caught by goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda. It is.
Germany's 4-2 victory over Costa Rica at the Albanian Stadium in Alcor was no laughing matter.
After 16 years of coaching under Joachim Löw, Germany, which Hansi Flick took the helm last year, suffered a devastating failure in its first major tournament after a 'new start'.
Germany, who had been trying to break through the Costa Rican camp with Jemal Musiala, who had good dribbling and foot skills, took the lead with Serge Gnabri's goal in the 10th minute of the first half.
David Raum's cross from the left was finished by Gnabry with a header in front of the goal to take the lead.
Costa Rica scored an equalizer in the 14th minute of the second half as the German defense seemed to be distracted from the middle of the first half.
In a counterattack situation, Kendall Waston's diving header following a cross was blocked by Neuer, and Yeltsin Teheda, who was following, fell and shot with his right foot to turn the game around.
Germany swallowed regret as Musiala's left-footed shot from the left side of the goal area in the 16th minute and the right-footed kick shot from the left in the 22nd minute both hit the post.
Costa Rica continued to attack relentlessly and even scored a comeback goal.
In the 25th minute of the second half, Juan Pablo Vargas's shot split the German goal post in the middle of the goal following a set piece.
Driven to the edge of a cliff, Germany equalized in the 28th minute with Kai Havertz's shot following a sensational pass by Niklas Funkruek.
The German offensive continued.
In the 40th minute of the second half, Gnabry's low cross from the right was finished by Havertz with a left-footed non-stop shot, sending it into the net to turn it around again.
In the 44th minute of the second half, Funkruck even scored the team's fourth goal.
However, Japan laughed and Germany cried as Spain failed to score an equalizer against Japan.
(Photo = Getty Image Korea)