Once again, Germany fell in the World Cup group stage.
In the third round of the World Cup group stage, Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2, but after Spain suffered a 1-2 reversal by Japan, Germany finished third in the group with goal difference.
Disappointment is written on the face of every German player.
As a result, the "death group" of Group E gave an outcome that everyone could not predict before the match - Japan defeated Germany and Spain to qualify as the first place in the group, and Spain was second in the group.
In Group F, the final standings were also unpopular – Morocco took the top spot in the group, Croatia second, and Belgium were eliminated.
This is also the last World Cup for veteran Mueller.
German football, it's time to shuffle
In the final round of the group stage, the German team, which had only one point from two games, had no way back, and their fate was not in their hands.
Gnabry took the lead for Germany in the 10th minute, but goals from Tejeda and Vargas in the second half put Costa Rica on the brink of defeat.
Fortunately, in the last twenty-odd minutes, Germany finally found its attacking form, Kai Havertz scored twice, Phil Kruger scored, and finally Germany ended the game 4-2, and also won the only victory in the group stage of this World Cup.
Will Frick leave class?
But this victory did not save the German team.
In another match played at the same time, Spain broke out and lost 2-1 to Japan – which put Japan on points, overtaking Germany and Spain to first place in the group, while Germany shared four points with Spain but was squeezed into third place in the group due to goal difference.
In this way, the German team can only swallow the bitterness of being out of the group stage, which is already their two consecutive World Cup group stage stops after the 2018 World Cup encounter Waterloo...
What happened to German football?
From winning the World Cup in 2014 to now being out of the group twice, Germany has fallen from peak to trough. Neuer's World Cup goalkeeper appearance record (19) and Kai Havertz's first World Cup goal were both meaningless because of the final defeat.
After the game, CCTV commentator He Wei reproduced the poet's nature, and he gave the German team a concluding remark:
At the end of the match, after two consecutive World Cups, the Germans failed to break out of the group. Hans Frick, who was Germany's assistant coach when they won the last World Cup, knows how to get it, but he doesn't have the right talent available in the right place at the moment.
Rudiger was reluctant to get up for a long time after the game.
German fans have always hoped that their traditional centre-forward would exist, and German football would play an immortal roar as strong and passionate as Beethoven's music.
But the German team failed to do that, and in two consecutive World Cups, they played like Wagner's opera, the Nibelungs' ring. People think of the famous movement, Ragnarok.
Goodbye, Germans, for the second consecutive World Cup. Playing in the final stage of the World Cup 20 times, reaching the semi-finals five and four times in the last five World Cups, but failing to qualify from the last two World Cup groups, it is time for German football to get back on the road.
They used to have glory, but after a downturn in the middle, they came back, but now it is time for them to find their way forward again.
Germany vs Costa Rica is the first time that a female referee has been used for the World Cup.
Successfully avoiding Brazil?
In fact, Spain's promotion is actually quite thrilling.
In the case of Spain's loss to Japan, if Germany also loses to Costa Rica, then Costa Rica will also get 6 points, join hands with Japan, Spain and Germany will be eliminated...
Thankfully, Spain finished second in the group and secured a pretty good knockout spot – likely avoiding favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals.
Morata scored in three consecutive games.
As the second in Group E, Spain will face Morocco in the quarterfinals and Japan will play Croatia; Once qualified, Japan will most likely face Brazil in the quarterfinals, while Spain will most likely face Portugal.
After the thrilling "tightrope walk", Enrique got a good script for Spain, but whether he can go further depends on the real chapter on the pitch.
Japan beat Germany and Spain in a row.
A true "light of Asia"
After the German team was out, English football legend Lineker posted his famous words on social media: "Football is very simple, it is a game in which 22 people chase the ball for 90 minutes and the Germans win."
But this time, he added a teasing sentence after it — if they could qualify from the group.
In the face of such irony, Germany coach Frick can only bear embarrassment, and his future in the German team manager is also dark. Asked if he would resign after the game, he responded: "We'll know the answer soon." ”
Japan achieved another comeback.
Although Australia, which qualified from the previous group, belongs to the AFC team, it is not in Asia after all, and this time, the Japanese team interprets what is the real "light of Asia".
After beating Germany 2-1 in the first round, they staged another miraculous comeback, beating Spain 2-1. In the "Group of Death", defeating two world champion teams at once, Japan completed the breakthrough in the most surprising way.
High-tech projection ruled that the ball did not go out of the line before the Japanese team scored.
After a 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica in the last game, Japanese coach Hoichi Mori's tactical arrangements were once again in question, and now he has re-established himself – even though Spain control most of the ball, his Japanese team is still under pressure.
Statistics show that Spain made a terrifying 1,059 passes in the game, while Japan had only a measly 16% of possession, but Japan had the last laugh and set the record for the lowest possession rate in World Cup history.
Don came off the bench again to score.
Not only that, but the substitute Ritsu Don scored the equaliser for Japan, and with his substitute goal and Asano Takuma goal in the first round, Japan has already scored three goals from the substitutes.
Meanwhile, in both games against Germany and Spain, Japan completed the comeback after falling behind in the first half.
Morihoichi celebrates after the game.
Such tactical performance and results brought Mori Hoichi to the pinnacle of his coaching career. As a result, Japan achieved two consecutive World Cup group qualifications, setting a new record in team history.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also sent congratulations via social media: "I would like to express my heartfelt respect for everyone's efforts. ”
Romelu Lukaku missed four must-score goals in the game.
Belgium out, Romelu Lukaku crazy "spitting bread"
On such a magical night, it wasn't just Germany that were out of the group stage.
In the last World Cup, Belgium, which has a "golden generation", beat England in the third or fourth place final to win the third place. This time, Fang Hua, who had passed away, went home in the group stage.
Against Croatia, Belgium ended up drawing 0-0 with Morocco beating Canada 2-1 in the other match of the same group, leaving Belgium one point behind second-placed Croatia in the group and missing the round of 16.
Morocco finished first in the group and the players excitedly tossed the manager.
In this game, Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku became the protagonist. He came off the bench and missed many great scoring opportunities in a row, and he "wasted" the victory on the team's lips.
The header was confiscated by the opposing goalkeeper, the shot hit the post, and the empty chest stopped the ball to the opposing goalkeeper... In the eyes of fans, Croatia can qualify from the group, and Lukaku's wonderful "defense" is indispensable.
Romelu Lukaku came on with an injury and was not in good form.
Statistics show that Romelu Lukaku, who has only played half a game, missed four good scoring opportunities, tying for the most in this World Cup. If you look at the minutes played, Romelu Lukaku is the player with the highest "efficiency" of missed opportunities.
After the game, not surprisingly, Romelu Lukaku also became the target of "group ridicule" by fans, and he himself was annoyed - angrily, he punched the block of the bench, and then threw himself on the shoulder of Belgium assistant coach Henry and cried.
Belgium goalkeeper Courtois' post-match remarks also seemed to confirm rumours of infighting: "It's a cruel result, but we deserve to be eliminated. ”
Lukaku held Henry in tears.
Youngster Doku supported Big Brother: "It's not just him [Lukaku] who got a chance, we all have a chance, Lukaku missed the opportunity, but I don't think it's his fault. ”
After the match, head coach Martinez, who picked up the Belgian whip since 2016, said it would be his last game in charge of the Belgium team.
The chicken feathers inside and outside the field have become the curtain call of the "golden generation" of Belgian football...