As strong as the German team, there is actually a hard day to count points.
In the early morning of the 28th, Germany and Spain drew 1-1, and after two rounds of group stage, the situation in Group E of the World Cup where Germany was located was confusing, and all four teams retained the hope of breaking through in the third round.
In Group F, where Croatia and Belgium are located, only Canada is out early – Morocco, Belgium and Croatia will face off in the final round.
Phil Kruger came off the bench to equalise for Germany.
The German team also has to count the points
After losing to Japan in the first group game, Germany will have to fight for three points in every game, but that's not easy.
In the early hours of November 28, Germany ended their slump in the second round of the group stage against the mighty Spain, but eventually shook hands and made peace with their opponents to win 1-1 points.
Both goals came in the second half – in the 61st minute, Morata received a pass from Alba and snatched the net; In the 82nd minute, Germany seized the tackle, and high school striker Phil Kruger who came off the bench scored a blast.
Center Phil Kruger solved the problem as soon as he came on.
After a difficult draw, Chinese fans on social networks immediately turned on the "mathematician mode". After all, before helping the national football team calculate points, this is the thing we are most familiar with.
At present, the qualification situation in Group E can be described as confusing, Spain is first with 4 points, Japan and Costa Rica are both 3 points, Japan is temporarily second with 0 goal difference, and Costa Rica is third with -6 goal difference.
The last German team has only 1 point from the two games and has a goal difference of -1, but fortunately, as long as the final round defeat against Costa Rica meets one of the following conditions, the German team can still qualify from the group.
The two sides fought fiercely.
Spain defeated Japan;
Spain drew with Japan, won Costa Rica by 1 goal, and scored more goals than Japan (Germany and Japan currently score 2);
Spain drew with Japan and beat Costa Rica by 2 goals or more;
Spain lost to Japan and surpassed Spain in goal difference (currently Spain has a goal difference of 7, Germany has a goal difference of -1).
Phil Kruger is a late bloomer.
In other words, Germany will have to beat Costa Rica in the final game anyway, and it will be up to Spain to see how it looks. Only by taking as many goal difference as possible can you get a glimmer of life.
At this point, Germany also "deserves" - this is the first time in the history of the World Cup that Germany has gone without a win in the first two group games.
According to OPTA's prediction, against Costa Rica, the German team has a winning rate of only 59%, which is not so secure...
The German team came back to life.
Morihoichi lost his breathing rights again
The "pseudo-pass-control" German team faced the "real pass-control" Spain, and finally not the side that held the ball most of the time. According to statistics, the German team has 35.8% of the ball in the whole game, which is the lowest possession rate of the German team in the World Cup since OPTA statistics began.
But Spain also proved with this draw that more time in possession does not equal goals and victories. In the final match of the group stage, Spain will face another Japanese team that respects the style of pass-and-control play.
Morihoichi was questioned again.
In fact, it is entirely possible that Japan will have locked up their knockout tickets after two rounds, but they did not seize the opportunity and were eliminated against Costa Rica.
In the 81st minute, Fuller scored the only goal of the game for Costa Rica. Statistics show that Costa Rica had only 4 shots on goal, 1 hit the goal frame, and took away the victory of the game.
Japan, on the other hand, had 14 shots on goal, more than three times as many as their opponents, but had to lose in the end.
FIFA President Infantino (second from left) also came to watch the Japanese team.
After the game, Morihoichi, who had just been "knighted" by defeating Germany in the first round, instantly returned to the normal state of being besieged by Japanese fans and losing his breathing rights.
In this game, his tactical arrangement is indeed full of controversy. The starting lineup rotated 5 people in a wide range, and players such as Kaoru Mikasa and Takuma Asano sat on the bench... As a result, the Japanese team's routine was completely figured out by the opponent.
Especially in the 62nd minute, after Kaoru Mikasa was substituted, the scene of the Japanese team was visibly enhanced, which also made many Japanese fans sigh - this goal, early on the "three-ball king" is not over.
Kaoru Mikasa changed the game for a while.
According to statistics, this match is the second most scored World Cup match in Japan's history, after 2014 against Greece, when Japan did not score 18 shots on goal.
In addition, Japan had three shots on target in the game, all of which were rejected by Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Keylor Navas. After conceding 7 goals in the first game, Keylor Navas finally gradually regained the feeling of "goalman" in this game.
The Japanese team stayed directly on the field for meetings after the match.
Faced with such embarrassment, Morihoichi could only apologize to the traditional Japanese "craftsmanship" - "I'm sorry, the next game against Spain, we will do our best to prepare for the victory." ”
At the moment, Spain can qualify from the group as long as they are unbeaten against Japan, and Japan is not safe as long as they fail to win.
From the proud spring breeze after the first round to the current walking on thin ice, the change of mentality and circumstances is embarrassing.
Morocco beat Belgium 2-0.
"Ginger" PK, see who is spicy
Although it failed to beat Germany to extend its point advantage, Spain also achieved a 90-minute unbeaten World Cup + European Cup 12 consecutive games after drawing with Germany, equalling the team's all-time record, and also achieved a 34-year unbeaten run against Germany in official matches.
On the other hand, the other team did not have the opportunity to set a historical record - Belgium lost 0-2 to Morocco, ending an eight-game winning streak in the World Cup group stage, and did not break the previous record held by Brazil.
In this World Cup, Belgium is one of the oldest teams with an average age of 27.8 years old, second only to Iran, Mexico and Argentina, and the same as Brazil, Uruguay, Japan and Tunisia.
Eden Hazard has been lost for 3 years by injury.
In their squad, there are stars such as De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Lukaku and so on, but when it comes to the real game, people find that this "classic car" is a little unable to run.
After a narrow 1-0 win over Canada in the first round, Belgium did not play well against the more impactful Morocco, and although the figure of 10 shots and 4 shots on target was comparable to the opponent's 11 shots and 4 shots on target, it was a complete defeat in the final 0-2 scoreline.
Belgium will beat Croatia in the final round.
Morocco won their third victory in their sixth World Cup, the last time they won at the 1998 World Cup. For Belgium, it was an embarrassing record that followed.
Losing the group stage for the first time since 1994, scoring just one goal in both group games, setting a new low since 1930...
Kevin De Bruyne said before the game: "I think we are 'outsiders' fighting for the title. I need more treatment, more rest. ”
Now it seems that this downturn is not self-effacing but that the Belgian team is indeed old.
Modric (centre) remains the absolute heart of Croatia.
In contrast, Croatia, another team with veteran picks, is much more "hot-blooded".
Modric at 37, Perisic at 33, Brozovic at 30... They can still run all over the field, and the performance of the core Modric makes people sigh, the veteran who carried Croatia to the final four years ago, the knife is not old.
Brozovic ran 13.88 kilometers in the race, a record so far in the tournament, while Perisic provided assists twice.
According to OPTA statistics, he became the first person to assist in the last 5 continental competitions (World Cup + European Cup), and he has participated in 16 goals (9 goals and 7 assists) in the World Cup + European Cup, ranking first among Croatian players.
Kramaric scored twice.
Even though the younger Canadian team blitzed in the opening 67 seconds to set the record for the fastest goal of this World Cup, Croatia showed with the next four goals what ginger is still old and spicy.
It was undoubtedly very difficult for the last runners-up to reach the final again, but in the face of such a group of scrappy veterans, we can only pay respect.