China News Service, Doha, December 2 (Reporter Bian Liqun) On the 1st local time, the third round of the World Cup group stage staged a focus battle. The Japanese team reversed the Spanish team 2:1 and qualified from the "death group" as the first in the group. Another milestone in the World Cup.
On December 2, Beijing time, in the third round of Group E of the Qatar World Cup group match, the match between the Japanese team and the Spanish team officially started.
This game is related to qualifying places in Group E. The Spanish team previously ranked first in the group with 1 win, 1 draw and 4 points. Therefore, as long as they draw, they can qualify. The Japanese team temporarily ranks second. If they want to advance directly, they must win, otherwise they will Look at the results of the German team and Costa Rica team at the same time on the other side.
In the opening stage of the game, the Spanish team, which is good at possession, dominated the game.
In the 10th minute, Morata scored with a header to help the Spanish team take the lead.
Since then, the Japanese team has been in a passive defense. There were only 2 shots in the entire first half, and the ball possession rate accounted for only 17%.
Players from both sides compete for the ball.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
Changing sides to fight again, the Japanese team made substitution adjustments, Doan Ritsu and Misaki Kaoru replaced Ku Jianying and Nagatomo Yuto to strengthen the offense.
This substitution adjustment immediately paid off. In the 47th minute, Tang Anlu caught the Spanish defense and made a mistake to equalize the score.
In the 53rd minute, Tanaka Bi scored from the back of the penalty area, and the Japanese team overtook the score.
The lagging Spanish team couldn't find any way to attack, but on the other side the German team defeated Costa Rica 4:2, and Spain advanced to the knockout round with the second place in the group by virtue of its goal difference advantage.
A Japanese player (right) blocks a Spanish player (left) from shooting.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
Spanish coach Enrique said frankly after the game that it is very dangerous for a team like Japan to put all their eggs in one basket.
"When we were overtaken, the Japanese team shrank their defense. We had some chances, but it was very difficult to score again."
Japanese team coach Moriyasu said: "This is a game that proves that Japanese football can definitely compete on the world stage. The players have shown us different landscapes and hope to reach at least the quarterfinals."
According to the schedule, the Japanese team will play against Croatia in the 1/8 finals, while Spain will play against Morocco.
If the Japanese team can defeat Croatia and break into the quarter-finals, it will create another milestone in Japanese football after qualifying for the World Cup champions Germany and Spain in the group stage.
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