Spain Qualify For Knock-Out Rounds Of World Cup Despite 'Shock' Japan Defeat

Written by Patrick Echatah

Spain were stunned by a Japanese blitz in the opening stages of the second half which left them clinging on to their hopes to reach the knock-out round, eventually settling for second place as they qualified from Group E at the 2022 World Cup.

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Luis Enrique’s side took the lead with Álvaro Morata’s header on only 10 minutes, with former Madridista Morata being the closest there was to a Real Madrid link in the starting line-up as Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal were benched.

At the same time, Dani Carvajal came onto the field replacing César Azpilicueta as Luis Enrique switched his right-backs once again. To say that Carvajal did not enjoy his opening minutes on the field would be to put it lightly.

After only a couple of minutes, Japan’s high press was already putting him on the spot and it was such a manouevre that gifted Japan an equaliser with Carvajal playing the ball to Unai Simón before a failed clearance saw possession turned over.

However, Spain simply could not find Asensio in the central attacking role. Japan stepped off and allowed them to have possession with a very low block, but there was simply no way through for Spain who could not break down a congested central area.

Whereas against Costa Rica, Asensio was able to cause havoc in central areas, here he was denied space at all times. While he was involved in play, with more touches in 40 minutes than Morata had in 58, his touches were often of little consequence.

The result means that Spain end the group stage in second position, having surrendered first place at the final hurdle. As a result, they will now face Morocco in the last 16 on Tuesday, while Japan will now face Luka Modrić’s Croatia on Monday

Meanwhile…

It was an absolute roller-coaster of emotions over the course of 90 minutes in both games in Group F tonight.

At one moment in the second half, the two favourites to advance in this group — Spain and Germany — were on the brink of elimination. Costa Rica were leading Germany 2 – 1; while Spain were down 2 – 1 to Japan.

That combination of scorelines had Japan and Costa Rica advancing. As it unfolded, Japan’s 2 – 1 lead vs Spain stood until the end; while Germany were able to overturn their deficit and win 4 – 2.

(managingmadrid)

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