Matches in Group E of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 23 November to 1 December 2022.[1] The group consisted of Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, and Japan. The top two teams, Japan and Spain, advanced to the round of 16.[2] Japan became the third ever and the first Asian team to win a World Cup group since themselves in Group H and South Korea in Group D, both in the 2002 edition, a tournament both countries co-hosted. Germany was eliminated in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament after going out as defending champions in 2018. This was the second time the reigning world champions were eliminated in the group stage of the two subsequent tournaments, following Italy, who was eliminated in the following two group stages after winning the 2006 edition.
1 2 As the identity of the CONCACAF v OFC play-off winners was not known at the time of the final draw, positions in the FIFA Rankings were not taken into account, and the placeholder in the draw was automatically seeded into pot 4.[4]
↑ Germany competed between 1951 and 1990 as West Germany.
The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2006 friendly, a 2–2 draw.[5]
Japan's Daizen Maeda would convert a cross into the net 8 minutes in, but the goal was ruled out for offside. In the 33rd minute, Germany was awarded a penalty when Japanese goalkeeper Shūichi Gonda fouled David Raum inside the area. İlkay Gündoğan converted the penalty via a shot down the middle of the net, with the goalkeeper diving to the right.[6] Germany would have the ball in the net again just before half-time through Kai Havertz, but the goal was then once again disallowed for offside.
In the 75th minute, Japan equalized through Ritsu Dōan, after he finished a rebound into the net following goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's save from a low shot from the left. Japan went in front eight minutes later, when Takuma Asano received the ball down the right wing before pulling away from defender Nico Schlotterbeck towards the penalty area and shooting high above Neuer into the net past the near post.[7]
The result marked the second consecutive occasion that Germany lost their opening World Cup match, after a 1–0 defeat to Mexico in 2018. Following his substitution on in the 79th minute, the contest also saw the return of Mario Götze in a World Cup match, his first since scoring the decisive goal in extra time of the 2014 final against Argentina.[8]
The teams had met on three occasions, all of them friendlies, with the most recent being a 5–0 home win for Spain in 2017.[10]
Spain dominated possession, and were up 3–0 at half-time thanks to goals scored in a span of 20 minutes by Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio and Ferran Torres from the penalty spot. Torres would get his second goal of the match nine minutes into the second half, before teenager Gavi scored Spain's fifth goal via an outside-of-the-foot volley in the 74th minute. Late strikes from substitutes Carlos Soler and Álvaro Morata saw the match conclude in a 7–0 Spanish win, the biggest margin of victory in a World Cup game since Portugal beat North Korea by the same scoreline in 2010. Costa Rica failed to record a single shot throughout the entirety of the contest, whilst Spain scored with each of their first seven shots on target.[11]
Costa Rica equalled their worst ever defeat, a 7–0 loss to Mexico in 1975, while this was Spain's biggest win at a World Cup, surpassing their 6–1 success against Bulgaria in 1998.[12] At the age of 18 years and 110 days, Gavi became the youngest ever player to both play and score in a World Cup match for Spain; he was also the youngest player to score for any team in the competition since Pelé for Brazil in 1958.[13]
The teams had previously met four times, all in friendly matches, with Japan winning three and drawing one;[15] their most recent encounter was a 3–0 home victory for the Japanese in 2018.[16]
Japan, who made five changes to their starting lineup that won against Germany, dominated the match, but it was Costa Rica who would go in front with nine minutes remaining.[17]Keysher Fuller scored with a shot from the right which was deflected and misjudged by Japan goalkeeper Shūichi Gonda, and this would end up being the only goal of the game.[18][19]
In the first half, Spain's Dani Olmo had a shot that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer turned onto the bar. In the 62nd minute, substitute Álvaro Morata put Spain into the lead when he flicked Jordi Alba's cross from the left into the net at the near post.[22] With seven minutes to go, Niclas Füllkrug, also a substitute, equalized for Germany when he lashed the ball with his right foot high past Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón from the right. Leroy Sané nearly won the contest for Germany in stoppage time when he was through on goal, but the ball eventually went out of bounds after he ran out of space to run.[23]
The teams previously faced each other once in 2001, a friendly won 1–0 by Spain.[25]
After Álvaro Morata scored with a header from five yards out after a cross from César Azpilicueta on the right to give Spain a 1–0 half-time lead, Ritsu Dōan equalized for Japan early into the second period, with his strike from outside the penalty area overpowering goalkeeper Unai Simón and going into the top right corner of the net. Ao Tanaka put Japan in front just three minutes later with a close range finish, with the assist coming from a cut-back by Kaoru Mitoma on the left, seeing the ball hover within millimeters of the left sideline.[26] This would prove to be the decisive goal, as Japan won 2–1 to top Group E ahead of Spain and Germany, the latter being eliminated in the first round for the second tournament in a row.
Due to the tightness of the call, the circumstances surrounding Japan's second goal sparked much discussion.[27] The live television camera angle created an optical illusion as if the pass to Tanaka was out of bounds, and the video assistant referee took several minutes to confirm that a sliver of the ball stayed in the field, making it a valid goal. The crucial evidence that settled the dispute was the bird's eye photo taken by Petr David Josek, released by the Associated Press after the match.[28][29] Josek revealed that a total of four agencies — AP, Reuters, AFP and Getty Images —[29] were approved to enter the suspended catwalk to take bird's eye photos, but the latter three missed the shot because they were at the opposite side of the pitch anticipating a Spanish goal instead.[28][29]
Japan's victory with only 18% of possession was the lowest for a winning side at a FIFA World Cup match since records began in 1966.[30] The match would later draw comparisons with the Japan women's team's 4–0 win against Spain at the 2023 Women's World Cup, with Japan's mere 23% possession also breaking the record for lowest by a winning side at the tournament (since recordings began in 2011).[30] Both the men's and women's team showed a similar tactical plan against their Spanish counterparts.[31] Japan's progression from the group marked the first time they ever reached the knockout stage in consecutive World Cups.[32][33]
After taking the lead in the first half through Serge Gnabry, Germany would be pegged pack in the second period following goals from Costa Rica scored by Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Pablo Vargas. Germany would quickly rally back with a brace from Kai Havertz and a late effort converted by Niclas Füllkrug to win the match 4–2, the same scoreline as the teams' previous World Cup encounter.
Despite the victory, Germany were still edged out of second place in the group by Spain, as a result of the latter's superior goal difference. This meant that the 2014 champions had failed to reach the knockout stage in the two subsequent tournaments following their last World Cup title (having finished bottom of their group in 2018), the same fate that befell 2006 winnersItaly in 2010 and 2014.[36] Costa Rica exited the competition as the team with the worst goal differential, in spite of the fact they won one of their three matches.
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:[2]
first yellow card: −1 point;
indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
direct red card: −4 points;
yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
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