Well folks. No one would have predicted Japan to win Group E and Morocco to win Group F. However after play on Wednesday, that was the result of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As a result, gone are world number two Belgium, and gone are four-time World Cup champion Germany.
The Japanese won Group E thanks to a 2-1 win over Spain. The Japanese got goals from Ritsu Doan of SC Freiburg in the 48th minute and Ao Tanaka of Fortuna Dusseldorf in the 51st minute. Japan had a record of two wins and one loss, They previously stunned Germany 2-1 and lost 1-0 to Costa Rica. It was Japan’s second win of the 2022 World Cup where they eventually won despite trailing 1-0 at the half.
Germany was still eliminated even though they beat Costa Rica 4-2. That is because Germany and Spain were tied for second in the group with identical records of one win, one loss and one draw for four points. However, Spain advanced because they were a +6, while Germany was a +1. To make matters worse for Germany is the fact that Fortuna Dusseldorf is in the second Bundesliga division in Germany.
In Group F, Morocco had the most points, despite being ranked 22nd. They finished first with a 2-1 win over Canada. Morocco got goals from Hakim Ziyech of England’s Chelsea and Youssef En-Nesyri of Spain’s Sevilla. Croatia meanwhile finished second in Group F after playing Belgium to a 0-0 deadlock. Morocco’s record was two wins and one draw for seven points, and Croatia had a record of one win and two draws for five points. In the Round of 16, Japan will now play Croatia, and Spain will now play Morocco.
