Jamie Jackson was at Khalifa International Stadium to witness this World Cup’s second huge shock in 27 hours. His report is in, and here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM!
This is how Group E stands after that seismic affair. Until 2018, Germany hadn’t gone out in the groups at the World Cup since 1938. Now they’re in serious danger of two such humiliations in a row. If Spain beat them on Sunday evening, they’re for the off. The result the last time they met, in November 2020? Spain 6-0 Germany. Godspeed, Hansi.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Germany | 1 | -1 | 0 |
That is nothing more than Japan deserve! They were the equals of Germany in the first half, and – sensationally – their betters in the second! It’s all down to Hajime Moriyasu’s slew of substitutes, all of whom made an impact. A managerial masterclass … and his players aren’t half bad either! Takuma Asano’s winner was an absolute belter. Their entire bench romps onto the field of play to embrace the men who finished the game, then Moriyasu gathers everyone to make a celebratory speech. They’ve beaten Germany for the first time in their history! Another trip to the last 16 is now very much on … and with Spain up for Germany next, the four-time winners could be eliminated in the groups again, before Sunday is out!
Sorry for all the exclamation marks, but, well, y’know.
FULL TIME: Germany 1-2 Japan
Gonda clears! The whistle goes! Japan have done a number on Germany, who lose their opening game for the second World Cup in a row!
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90 min +8: Neuer is this close to doing an Alisson v West Brom, but Yoshida eyebrows away from him at the last. The ball drops to Sule on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Asano blocks out for a corner.
90 min +7: … and now he’s up for a free kick! Kimmich to swing it in from the right.
90 min +6: Neuer comes out of his box to deny Asano, hooking back upfield.
90 min +5: Germany go long. Fullkrug heads down for Goretzka, who sends a first-time shot fizzing inches wide of the bottom-left corner. Goretzka looks completely shellshocked.
90 min +4: Fullkrug goes over in the Japan box, claiming to have been felled by Yoshida. The referee quite rightly has no interest whatsoever in awarding a penalty.
90 min +2: Kimmich and Rudiger faff around, allowing Asano and Doan to launch a two-on-two raid. Germany are fortunate that Japan are more interested in eating up time than attacking, and eventually the move fizzles out.
90 min: Moukoko comes on for Gnabry. There will be seven added minutes. “We had a Waitrose in Sutton Coldfield when I was young,” writes Stephanie Jordan. “That counts as Birmingham (from 1974). Alas it is no more but I’m now in Germany.” Worlds are colliding.
88 min: Rudiger misjudges a bouncing ball and allows Asano to flick Doan clear down the inside-right channel. Doan goes down in the box, and wants a penalty. So we hear, anyway. The aforementioned TV director doesn’t deign to show the incident, choosing some slow-motion footage of celebrating Japan fans instead. VAR isn’t interested either.
87 min: Tell you what, Germany will be thankful for Fifa’s new added-time diktat. They’re this close to losing their opening game, and Spain are up next!
85 min: The TV director crash-zooms into Hansi Flick’s stunned coupon. It’s like the credits of Hawaii-Five-O. Germany try to respond immediately, a free kick leading to a corner that leads to a spot of head tennis. Yoshida lashes a clearance upfield.
GOAL! Germany 1-2 Japan (Asano 83)
What a turnaround! And what a finish this is! Asano traps a long ball down the right and skitters into the box at speed . He reaches the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, holds off Schlotterbeck, and roofs the ball past Neuer at his near post! Another shock is on the cards!
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82 min: Another Germany corner. Kimmich doesn’t deliver it well. Meanwhile Tim Woods is back: “Francis Lee is correct, there is a ReWe nearer the museum. The one pictured is, however, on the same street as the museum, albeit a long street. Invalidenstrasse, for any MBM readers planning a supermarket-themed tour of Berlin any time soon.”
80 min: Gnabry crosses from the left to force a corner. Kimmich whips into the mixer. Gonda comes off his line and flaps. Rudiger wins a header but pings it over the bar. “That Rewe picture is the one in Invalidenstraße in Mitte, it is indeed an old Markthalle,” reports Giancarlo M Sandoval. “To be fair, it’s only a couple of stations away from the Naturkundemuseum. Source: it’s my local Rewe and I sent the picture to all of my friends: ‘My supermarket is in the Guardian!’”
78 min: Minamino is nearly pinged clear down the left again. Germany are seriously rattled here. They respond by replacing Musiala and Havertz with Fullkrug and 2014’s hero Gotze.
77 min: Three of Japan’s substitutes were involved in that goal. Hats off to Hajime Moriyasu!
GOAL! Germany 1-1 Japan (Doan 75)
Minamino gets involved immediately! He’s sent clear down the inside-left channel by Mitoma’s forensic pass. He sends in a shot-cum-cross that’s parried well by Neuer, but only to the feet of Doan, who slams home from six yards. That had been coming!
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74 min: Minamino comes on for Sakai, and …
73 min: Japan should be level! Ito chests down on the penalty spot and lashes towards the right-hand corner. Neuer reacts sensationally to parry, but the ball tees up Sakai, six yards out. He has to score! But leans back and blazes high and wide.
71 min: Doan comes on for Tanaka.
70 min: Germany pepper the Japan goal. Hofmann has a shot. Blocked by Gonda. Gnabry has another go. Blocked by Gonda. Raum crosses from the left. Gnabry’s header is clawed out by Gonda. Then a final poke by Gnabry as he attempts to force the rebound home. Gonda makes save number four. Nothing comes of the corner.
69 min: A long ball down the Japan right. Sakai heads it infield for Asano, whose shot is blocked out for a corner by Rudiger. The corner’s sent long, and the ball drops at the feet of Itakura, six yards out. If he shoots, he surely scores, but he can’t control and the ball squeaks through apologetically to Neuer.
68 min: Now it’s Germany’s turn to make a double change. Goretzka and Hofmann come on for Gundogan and Muller.
66 min: Japan have looked more dangerous since making that double change. Asano strides into the box down the left and takes a shot that’s deflected out for a corner. The set piece is sent long, and met at the far post by Itakura, whose header back across goal is cleared by Schlotterbeck.
65 min: Asano knocks the ball past Rudiger down the right and takes the big defender on in a footrace. Rudiger wins it, and showboats to boot, performing a couple of comic high-kicks while ushering the ball out for a goal kick in full flight.
63 min: Anyway, that Rewe shop pictured during the preamble. Here’s Francis Lee: “Not really my part of town, but I’m pretty sure the ReWe supermarket pictured - and praised by Tim Woods - is further away from the Natural History Museum and housed in an old Markthalle. The one around the corner from the museum is in a horrible modern behemoth of a building. What it does have going for it, however, is the close proximity to a famous cemetery containing the luminary likes of Brecht, Heinrich Mann, Hegel, early 19th century Berlin architect Schinkel and East German writers Christa Wolf and Heiner Müller. Unable to confirm Tim’s comparison, however, as they didn’t have any branches of Waitrose in Birmingham when I was growing up, at least. Although they’re defo both a step up from the old Asda behind Villa Park.”
61 min: It’s an entertaining game now. Gnabry nearly finds space for a shot after cutting in from the right. Then Japan counter through the subs Mitoma and Asano, the latter lashing wildly over from the left-hand side of the D.
60 min: … Musiala finds Gundogan down the middle. Gundogan opens his body and sends a low shot off the base of the right-hand post and out for a goal kick. Gonda was beaten all ends up.
59 min: Germany take the sting out of the game by slowing things down with some sterile, patient passing. Then they move through the gears and …
57 min: Asano and Mitoma come on for Nagatomo and Maeda. Asano finds himself immediately in the thick of it, meeting Ito’s right-wing cross at full pelt and firing wide right.
55 min: Raum slips Havertz free down the inside-left channel. Gonda rushes out to close Havertz down. Havertz can’t round the keeper, but is in the business of looking for a team-mate in front of the now-unguarded goal when the flag goes up for offside. Poor decision. Gonda and Japan get away with one there.
53 min: Musiala’s run wasn’t a million miles away from Ricky Villa’s at the 1981 FA Cup final replay. The finish not so much. Japan counter, Tanaka crossing deep from the left. Kamada attempts a Marco Van Basten-esque volley from a ludicrously tight angle. Slice! Nope!
51 min: Musiala dribbles into the Japan box from the left and sits down four men. He eventually makes some space on the penalty spot, before getting the easiest bit wrong. He blazes over with only Gonda to beat.
50 min: Ito dribbles in from the right only to be eased off the ball by Schlotterbeck. A not particularly forceful claim for a penalty. Kamada shoots. Deflection. Corner. Wasted corner.
49 min: Japan are now lining up with five at the back. On ITV commentary, Ally McCoist predicts second-half midfield domination for Germany as a result.
47 min: Muller spins down the inside-right channel and powers infield. He flicks towards Gnabry on the right. Muller wants the return pass, waiting for it on the edge of the box, but he doesn’t get it. Gnabry goes for goal, the ball shaving the top of the bar as it sails out of play. Muller offers him some beneficial advice.
Japan get the second half underway having made a change. Tomiyasu replaces Kubo.
More on that very effective German pre-match protest. “That’s fantastic by the Germans,” says Ian Wright on ITV. Roy Keane’s not so sure, though: “Use their voice! Wear the armband! Leadership is about action. Go and do it. It’s a gesture, and it’s a start, but they can do more.” Meanwhile our man in Doha, Sean Ingle, reports…
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Germany 1-0 Japan
… and so Japan are still very much in this.
45 min +5: … and having nearly gone 2-0 down, Japan go close to levelling, Nagatomo floating in a cross from the left, Maeda sending a header, intended for the top right, inches wide!
45 min +4: Musiala overhits a pass down the inside-right channel for Muller, who recycles possession by pulling the ball back for Kimmich. A shot is parried left to Gnabry, who crosses low for Havertz to tap home. The goal is awarded, but ludicrously so, as Havertz was miles offside. Eventually the “goal” is chalked off by VAR.
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45 min +3: The crowd break into a rendition of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer. Arch comment on a nondescript half.
45 min +1: The first of four added minutes. A refreshingly old-school chunk of bonus time.
45 min: Germany stroke the ball around patiently, and for the first time this afternoon, impressively. It’s eventually worked to Musiala on the edge of the Japanese box. He spins and aims for the top left, but gets too much loft on the shot, which flies miles over the bar.
43 min: Some atmosphere in the stadium now, as a Mexican wave breaks out.
42 min: Muller’s cute lay-off tees up Kimmich on the edge of the Japan D. Kimmich flays harmlessly over.
40 min: Kubo is sent scampering into acres down the left. He cuts back looking for Maeda. Not quite. Intercepted. Then the flag goes up for offside. Japan continue to look fresh in attack.
38 min: Musiala busies himself in the Japan box. Gonda punches clear, but without too much authority. The ball drops to Kimmich, who should surely pearl a first-time shot goalwards from the edge of the box, but attempts a cushioned pass that doesn’t come off. An odd decision.
37 min: More on that German protest, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter account.
It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us.
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 23, 2022
Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position. pic.twitter.com/tiQKuE4XV7
36 min: Japan try to respond quickly, Ito winning a corner down the right. Germany clear, but Japan come straight back, Kubo tearing down the same flank with options in the middle. Germany are all over the shop, but Kubo’s final ball is hopeless and it’s easily intercepted and cleared.
35 min: That was a completely ludicrous challenge by Gonda. Raum had turned tail and was in the process of falling over. But he went in again, and here we all are.
GOAL! Germany 1-0 Japan (Gundogan 33 pen)
There’s the usual wait as VAR looks for trouble. But the decision stands. Gundogan sends Gonda to the right, and slots just to the left of centre. Germany haven’t been particularly good, but they lead!
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Penalty for Germany
31 min: Sakai goes walkabout, allowing Kimmich to release Raum into the box down the left. Raum reaches the edge of the six-yard box and checks back. Gonda scrambles around at his feet. He doesn’t make contact with his first lunge, but then makes a totally pointless second move and brings down his man. The referee points to the spot.
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30 min: “Presumably Fifa will praise the Germans for so carefully observing Covid protocols during their team photo, or some such ludicrous spin,” quips Justin Kavanagh. “‘I am a German today,’ Herr Infantino will no doubt be telling us shortly.”
29 min: Gundogan finds Raum down the left this time. Raum shoots from a tight angle. Gonda parries. The ball breaks back to Gundogan, whose low drive is blocked by Yoshida. A couple of big chances for Gundogan in short order.
28 min: Gnabry cuts in from the right and tees up Gundogan on the edge of the Japan D. Gundogan sends his shot straight down Gonda’s throat. He had Raum in acres of space on the overlap down the left. That pass might have been the better bet.
26 min: Havertz hooks back from the byline to the left of goal. The ball sails in the general environs of Endo’s arm and so VAR takes a long look. But there’s nothing doing. We play on.
24 min: There’s not much by way of lively atmosphere at the Khalifa International Stadium this afternoon. “I think this may be the quietest World Cup match I’ve ever seen,” opines Matthew Richman. “Is that a fan making that whistling noise throughout or is a singing bird the loudest presence in the grounds?”
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22 min: Raum and Rudiger faff around, allowing Ito to make good down the right and win a corner off Schlotterbeck. Nothing comes of the set piece, Itakura and Sakai getting in each other’s way at the far stick.
20 min: Kimmich pearls a shot from the edge of the Japan D. Gonda parries. Gundogan slashes the rebound well over the bar.
19 min: Germany are beginning to make their presence felt up the pitch. Gnabry hooks back a long ball from the byline, but there’s nobody in the Japan box to take advantage. Germany have enjoyed 78 percent possession so far, albeit to little effect.
18 min: Kimmich just about gets enough purchase on a backpass to Neuer. He slightly scuffs it, with Maeda lurking, and is pleased to see the ball bobble back to his keeper.
16 min: Havertz wins Germany’s first corner of the game down the left. Kimmich takes, but only after the referee bollocks Endo and Schlotterbeck for wrestling. Rudiger meets it at the far post, and sends a weak downward header past the right-hand post. Gonda had it covered anyway.
14 min: Germany may have started slowly on the pitch, but they were quick to make a statement before kick-off. This doesn’t need too much unpacking, does it.
12 min: Ito skitters down the right again, and tries to thread a defence-splitter towards Maeda, but Rudiger reads the danger and intercepts. “Over the last four seasons Wataru Endo has been absolutely crucial for Stuttgart, who he captains, and has earned the love and respect of us fans,” writes Kári Tulinius. “The last time I saw him play in the Bundesliga he was knocked unconscious and initial reports were very worrying, so seeing him back in fine form is heartening.”
10 min: That was one hell of a counter, Japan swarming around Gundogan and zipping upfield with great pace. Maeda holds his head in his hands. Despair. He knows he didn’t need to go as early as he did. Patience, patience. Germany – and Gundogan – got away with one there.
8 min: Kamada strips Gundogan in the centre circle, and Japan tear upfield on the counter. Kamada sends Ito into acres down the right. Ito curls a low cross into the German box for Maeda, who slams into the bottom left from six yards. What a move! But Maeda has gone too early, and the flag goes up for offside.
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6 min: Kubo presses and puts Rudiger and Neuer under a bit of pressure. The German pair combine to blooter clear just in time. Kubo nearly closed the keeper down.
5 min: Ito wins the first corner of the game down the right. Kamada’s delivery is no good, but Japan are looking lively during these early exchanges.
4 min: Japan go long again, Maeda hassling Rudiger as the pair chase the ball down the right wing. Rudiger gets the better of the Japan striker this time, but this could become an interesting battle. Maeda briefly threatened to get past the defender there.
2 min: Tanaka takes his turn to launch it long, forcing Neuer to come out of his box to head clear. Germany counter, Gnabry dribbling with purpose down the inside-left channel. He can’t bust through Japan’s blue line. Meanwhile here’s Francis Lee reporting from Berlin: “The German TV interviewer has done her level best to give Hansi Flick a thorough pumping in the pre-match on-pitch debriefing zone etc., but all she could squeeze out of him was that Havertz will be playing striker, with Müller the no. 10.”
Germany get the party started. They launch long, then a brief game of head tennis breaks out. Soon enough the ball’s back at the feet of Neuer, after which the four-time winners pass it around the back awhile.
Incidentally, this match is being broadcast in the UK on Independent Television. On that subject, our media editor Jim Waterson reports …
ITV will continue to take Saudi Arabian money to promote the country as an exciting tourist destination, despite highlighting the Gulf nation’s poor human rights record during the World Cup.
ITV broadcast a special report on Saudi Arabia during the country’s unexpected 2-1 victory over Argentina on Tuesday. The report featured the case of Loujain Al-Hathloul, who led a successful campaign in 2018 to lift the ban on a woman’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia but was later found guilty of crimes against the Saudi state.
The ITV report also told football fans the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country’s Istanbul embassy and reported claims that the purchase of Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s is intended to distract from such incidents.
Yet following the bold broadcast viewers were shown upbeat adverts during the same programme, paid for by Visit Saudi Arabia - an arm of the Saudi government - promoting the country as an exciting new tourist destination.
An ITV spokesperson said that “as an ad-funded channel, we take our responsibility to our viewers very seriously” and all ITV advertising is approved pre-transmission to meet both legal and industry requirements.
But while legal, the decision of ITV - and other European broadcasters showing the advert - to take the Saudi money highlights the challenges of scrutinising sportswashing and human rights abuses while still trying to make money as a commercial broadcaster.
The teams are out! Germany wear their famous white shirt – with a huge black stripe running down the middle of it – while Japan are in first-choice blue. We’ll be off soon, just after the anthems. “I know that Rewe, it’s near the Natural History Museum,” writes Tim Woods. “It really is a top-notch supermarket. Up there with the Waitrose in Twickenham, and that’s not an honour I toss about lightly.”
Up in armbands. The One Love debate rumbles on, with German vice chancellor Robert Habeck telling ZDF: “I am not the media advisor of the DFB (German FA) and I am not Manuel Neuer but the opportunity is there. I’m a politician trying to do my job properly, but what would happen if it happened now? I would like to know and I would take my chances.”
Meanwhile Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser, on a visit to a DFB event in Doha, has called Fifa’s stance on the issue “a grave mistake”, adding: “This is not alright, how federations are being put under pressure. These were not the security guarantees I had received from [Qatar’s] interior minister. In today’s times it is incomprehensible that Fifa does not want people to openly stand for tolerance and against discrimination. It does not fit in our times and it is not appropriate towards people.”
Like the English FA, the DFB decided to u-turn on its decision to wear the rainbow armband under pressure from Fifa. As a result, Rewe, one of Germany’s biggest supermarkets, has ditched its advertising campaign with the DFB.
Yuki Kobayashi isn’t in the Japan squad. But the 22-year-old centre-back is nevertheless in the news today. He’s agreed to leave J-League club Vissel Kobe for Celtic. He’ll join the Scottish champions at the start of December, and will be eligible to play once the registration window opens in January.
Manuel Neuer becomes the first goalkeeper to play in four consecutive World Cup finals for Germany. Thomas Muller, who has not played a full 90 minutes since September, starts up front. Celtic striker Daizen Maeda leads the line for Japan.
The teams
Germany: Neuer, Sule, Rudiger, Schlotterbeck, Raum, Kimmich, Gundogan, Gnabry, Muller, Musiala, Havertz.
Subs: Ginter, Kehrer, Goretzka, Fullkrug, Gotze, Trapp, Klostermann, Brandt, Hofmann, Sane, Gunter, ter Stegen, Adeyemi, Kotchap, Moukoko.
Japan: Gonda, Sakai, Itakura, Yoshida, Nagatomo, Tanaka, Endo, Junya Ito, Kamada, Kubo, Maeda.
Subs: Kawashima, Yamane, Taniguchi, Shibasaki, Doan, Mitoma, Minamino, Morita, Tomiyasu, Asano, Machino, Ueda, Schmidt, Soma, Hiroki Ito.
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Preamble
Which Germany are going to turn up this time, then? The one that spanked Brazil 7-1 en route to winning the 2014 World Cup? Or the rabble beaten by Mexico and South Korea four years later, in their worst showing at a finals for eight decades? That 3-3 draw with England a couple of months ago doesn’t really answer the question, does it.
Hansi Flick’s men haven’t been firing on all cylinders recently. They shipped that two-goal lead at Wembley, lost at home to Hungary, and only beat Oman 1-0 last week. But they do have plenty of in-form Bayern Munich players to call on – Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry – and four players (Thomas Müller, Mario Götze, Matthias Ginter and captain Manuel Neuer) who were around in 2014 and know exactly how it’s done.
They’re still sixth-favourites to lift the trophy next month, behind Brazil, England, France, Argentina (yes, still) and Spain. And as the 11th-best side in the world according to the Fifa rankings, they should have enough to deal with Japan, ranked 24 and priced at 475-1 to become champions. But then the same was said about the Koreans four years ago. In any case, the Samurai Blue have plenty Bundesliga quality of their own, including Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Daichi Kamada, Wataru Endo of Stuttgart and defender Maya Yoshida, once of Southampton but now at Schalke, so Die Mannschaft will know they’ll be given a game this afternoon. Kick off is at 1pm GMT, 4pm at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. انه يحدث! It’s on!
