Beijing, Dec. 2 -- Last night and this morning, Beijing time, all Group E and Group F matches of the Qatar World Cup ended. Morocco and Croatia advanced from Group F. Group E qualification reversed several times, and Japan finally took first place in the group, beating Spain 2-1. Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 but was eliminated.
The picture shows Japanese players during the game
In the opening stages of both matches, the situation was in favour of the traditional powerhouse Spain and Germany: Germany led Costa Rica 1-0 in the 10th minute, Raum crossed from the left to assist Gnabry to score; Spain led Japan 1-0 in the 12th minute when Morata jumped high with a header.
Until the end of the first half, no goals were scored in either game. According to the points at this point, Spain will join hands with Germany to advance.
However, shortly after the start of the second half, the situation reversed in both games.
On December 2, Beijing time, the third round of Group E of the Qatar World Cup group stage, Costa Rica and Germany officially began. The picture shows players from both sides scramble for headers.
First of all, the Japanese team. In the 48th minute, Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon's shot was stolen and shot from outside the penalty area; In the 50th minute, Bi Tanaka received an assist from her teammate and knocked the ball into the goal. In just two minutes, Japan beat Spain 2-1.
Then there's the Costa Rican team. In the 58th minute, Tejeda equalized for his team; In the 70th minute, there was a scuffle in the German penalty area and Juan Vargas scored. Costa Rica beat Germany 2-1.
At this point, Japan and Costa Rica will both qualify, while Spain and Germany will be eliminated.
The picture shows the German player (white) scoring on goal
Trailing Germany, they launched a tidal wave of attacks as Phil Kruger equalised after hitting the post several times.
The goal dragged Costa Rica back to second place in the group. At this time, the teams that advanced became Japan and Spain.
From the 85th to the 88th minute, Kai Havertz and Phil Kruger scored two goals in a row to seal a 4-2 victory for Germany. But as another match ended in a 2-1 victory for Japan, Germany ended up falling short.
The picture shows the moment when the Japanese player (right blue) scored
With a comeback victory over Germany in the first round and Spain in the current comeback, Japan, who reached six points, won first place in the group in a convincing way.
Spain shared four points with Germany and finished second in the group, thanks to a goal difference advantage over Costa Rica 7-0. Germany hated to be out of the tournament and were eliminated in the group stage for two consecutive World Cups.
In addition, a panel of three female referees made World Cup history by blowing penalties for the match between Germany and Costa Rica, in which Stephanie Frapal from France was the referee.
Morocco's No. 5 player (white right) blocks his own goal (own goal) with a cross from the opponent
In Group F, Morocco beat Canada 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Ziyech and N-Nesri, thus finishing first in the group with an unbeaten record of two wins and one draw. The first own goal of the World Cup was born in this game, and Morocco's Agrd accidentally swung an own goal when defending, but fortunately the goal conceded did not change the result of the team's victory.
With this victory, Morocco became the second African team to advance to the knockout stage of this tournament after Senegal. Not only that, the last time an African team finished first in the group was Nigeria at the 1998 World Cup in France.
The picture shows the match between Croatia and Belgium
Morocco's early lead meant Croatia, runners-up in the World Cup, and Belgium, who finished third, had to compete for a place in the last World Cup. The conversation ended 0-0 with Croatia finishing second in Group F.
As Brazil and Portugal have advanced early, Belgium became the other seeded team to be eliminated in the group stage in addition to host Qatar.
In fact, Belgium created a lot of threats in this game, especially after Romelu Lukaku came on as a substitute in the second half. However, the Belgian striker was clearly out of form and missed at least three good scoring chances.
After the match, a reluctant Romelu Lukaku punched down the glass wind shield on the bench. Depressed, he burst into tears, but these could not save the fate of the team out. The Belgian "golden generation" of players, who have reached their prime, will hardly appear on the field of the next World Cup.
The picture shows Belgian player Romelu Lukaku (second from left) shooting
With the Group A and Group F stages all over, the quarter-finals produced two more sets of matches:
5th Dec 23:00 Japan vs Croatia
6th Dec 23:00 Morocco vs Spain
So far, the quarter-finals have produced six groups, with the other four matches:
3rd Dec 23:00 Netherlands vs USA
4th Dec 3:00 Argentina vs Australia
4th Dec 23:00 France vs Poland
5th Dec 3:00 England vs Senegal
Image source: Screenshot of FIFA website
From tonight to tomorrow morning, Beijing time, the final round of Group G and Group H will begin, which is also the last four group games of this World Cup. Match time: Group H 23:00 South Korea vs Portugal; Group H 23:00 Ghana vs Uruguay; Group G 3:00 Serbia vs Switzerland; Group G 3:00 Cameroon against Brazil.
With five-star Brazil already advancing early, Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon will compete for another place in Group G.
From the current group points, Switzerland have a certain advantage, they only need to win to ensure promotion, even if they draw with Serbia, the possibility of qualifying is not small. But if the Swiss lose, they will definitely be eliminated.
Compared to Serbia, Cameroon has less hope of qualifying. However, although the overall strength is far inferior to the Brazilian team, if the Samba Army follows the main force of the French team, the "African Lions" are not without opportunities.
Image source: Screenshot of FIFA website
The situation in group H is similar to that in group G. Portugal, who have won two in a row, have qualified early but have yet to secure top spot in the group. The South Korean team only qualifies to see the result of the other match if they beat Portugal, otherwise they will go straight out.
Although Uruguay currently has only one point, it seems that the possibility of qualifying is low, but as long as they can beat Ghana, they have no small hopes of qualifying. In the last round of the match against South Korea, Ghana's backline exposed a number of problems, especially how to deal with the impact of high school forwards. At this point, Edinson Cavani and Núñez will be key to Uruguay's victory. (End)