Paul MacInnes was there to see it. Here’s his match report.
Bradford gets in touch from Australia: “That picture you provided for the second Japan goal clearly shows the balls outer edge still hanging over the white line. By that picture, the ball is in play, NOT out. However, when the broadcasters show replays, it looks like that frame you provided might not be the best one showing the ball at it’s furthest point of travel before coming back in towards goal. As an Australian, it’s so SO good seeing the blue samurai take it to European powerhouses. Throw UAE and Iran in, and it shows Asia isn’t the walkover.”
Updated
Ben Mabley, the Premier League commentator in Japan, had this to say:
“Ever since I came to Japan, I have often heard that Japanese soccer has a short history, and I never want to hear it again! This year, too, a great history is happening right before your eyes! ! congratulations! !”
日本のサッカーはまだ歴史が浅い、という、来日してからよく耳にしてきた話、もう二度と聞きたくない！
— Ben Mabley（ベン・メイブリー） (@BenMabley) December 1, 2022
今年もまた、目の前で、すごい歴史が起きているぞ！！
おめでとうございます！！😃🇯🇵🙌
Peter Walton, who appears to live in a VAR room of TVs, says goal-line technology and says VAR was right to stay with the ref’s decision if we don’t know if the “curvature of the ball is over the line”. He doesn’t know, then. Nobody does. The picture of the ball crossing the line has done a Lord Lucan and disappeared.
Roger Kirkby: “Not having a dog in the fight, that is the best two nights of football I have ever watched. Fantastic stuff, and then some.”
Simon McMahon: “Credit to Japan. Beating Germany and Spain, while losing to Costa Rica, is some achievement. In the end, it’s the Germans who have ended up regretting one poor performance. What a group. Football, eh? Bloody hell.”
Seth Levine: “To Rope-a-dope Germany is impressive. To rooe-a-dope Germany and Spain is unbelievable. Thoroughly deserved. Not sure I’ve ever been more pleased for any side in any sport. Love the way they play. No s**t-housery. No histrionics. Brilliant fans. Excellent tactically. Manager wears a charcoal three-piece suit. What’s not to love?”
ITV are going to give Peter Walton a call to clear it all up for us on the second goal. The one night he takes off, and misses THAT line call. Though any money he will back the Fifa call.
Updated
That’s how they finish. Japan will play Croatia, and Spain will play Morocco.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 3 | -8 | 3 |
Confirmed: Germany are out.
Costa Rica and Germany are playing out the dead seconds and it’s over! Spain finish second in the group and would not be there without that 7-0 win over Costa Rica.
Full-time: Japan 2-1 Spain
Japan are this tournament’s surprise machine, and they have made sure Germany are out of the World Cup at the group stage for the second successive tournament. Japan were brilliant from the start of the second half. Doan made all the difference, as did the second goal, when the ball was deemed to cross the line. We still haven’t seen what the VAR came up with. Controversy reigns, but so do Japan who win the group. Very well done to them.
Updated
90+7 min: Big cheers when Gonda gets the ball and takes his time over it. Spain seem happy to hold the ball now. Boos as they mount one final attack. Cheers when the ball is cleared and that’s it…Japan have done it.
90+6 min: Spain are passing it around, with the drums, the drums, the…drums still playing. The Japanese are reduced to a back five, seven and nine now. Their fans are singing and whistling. Not long now.
90+5 min: Spain still pushing for this one, by the way. Japan have defended so well but are reduced to getting it launched out, with nobody up there to chase the ball down.
90+4 min: The prediction at this point is the pages of Bild will include a pic of that ball going over the line – or otherwise – for that Japan goal.
90+2 min: This is no Gijon-style detente between Austria and Germany from 1982. Spain are trying to get into this. Ten minutes have been added on in the other game, where Füllkrug has scored to put the Germans 4-2 up.
90 min: AS IT STANDS: Spain and Japan are going through. There’s seven added minutes.
89 min: Jordi Alba, who actually came on as a sub, has shot blocked, and so does Asensio as the ball bounces out. Then Olmo is on the end of a nice passing move and Gonda saves low, and holds on.
Updated
88 min: The count-back is getting querulous right now. Spain stuck between wanting to win the group and knocking the Germans out. I think. These games are on the same clock.
Update: Costa Rica 2-3 Germany
Havertz has scored and Spain will edge out Germany on goal difference. Germany need a Spain goal to stay in the World Cup.
Updated
84 min: Ito almost gets away and Carvajal has to run all the way back to clear the danger. One on one with Simon was a sub-optimal situation. Spain having to chuck everything at this, and the back door is being left open.
83 min: Japan take their time over a free-kick. A lot of time. Doan, the magic man, takes it and Itakura head down. This time, Simon was comfortable. Mind, the header was from about 30 yards out.
81 min: Nathan Barnes: “It’s unthinkable that the team who were battered 7-0 in their first group game are ahead in their conquerors in the last group game. Football never ceases to amaze.”
Not now. (I think.)
80 min: It’s all Spain, but so far it’s been all toothless. The Spain that don’t have a striker, Morata having long left the field. Fati chases the ball down to the byline but can’t win a corner.
77 min: Adriana Batalha has a VAR referee in her house, it seems. Is it Peter Walton? Actually, where is Peter Walton? “I showed that picture to the expert in my house and he says in looks like it’s in. You have to look at the whole volume of the ball, not the part that is touching the floor. If you look at the wider part of the sphere, it’s in the line.”
76 min: Lots of emails in saying the ball was IN for the second Japan goal. Guess it’s in the eye of the beholder, or VAR as it were. And we still haven’t seen the image they used.
74 min: OK, Spain still need to find a goal. They can’t rely on the Germans and Costa Rica. Tomiyasu gets back to show his experience and sweep up. Japan hold on to this and Germany are done.
Score update: Costa Rica 2-2 Germany
Kai Havertz has scored and that breathes life into Spain if not yet Germany.
72 min: Spain have to find a goal from somewhere. Japan really defending deep.
Score update: Costa Rica 2-1 Germany
AS IT STANDS, Spain and Germany are going out. Manuel Neuer again, and it’s Juan Pablo Vargas after a lengthy VAR delay.
70 min: Asano, one of the Japanese subs, has a glorious chance, Mitoma setting him up with a burst down the wing, and a lovely pass inside. Asano got excited.
69 min: One more Spain subs: Fati on, Alba off. Japan sub: Tomiyasu comes on, having nursed his way through back from the muscle injury he picked up against FC Zurich.
66 min: This game’s gone to piddle recently. Perhaps having the score from the other game on the scoreboard – as I believe is the case – is stopping them playing properly.
64 min: Was the ball out? It looks it here. We’re still yet to see the VAR imagery. Gianni Infantino is in the stands, feeling Japanese no doubt. Or Costa Rican. But not a migrant worker.
— Christian Machowski (@Christian_ESEM) December 1, 2022
62 min: 30 minutes plus change of this fare to come. Not so much now that TV execs have decided they don’t like all that time added on. Interferes with the advertisers, see.
Update: Costa Rica 1-1 Germany
Talking of goalies dropping a rickett, Manuel Neuer’s had one. Yeltsin Tejeda scores, ans suddenly both Spain and Germany are staring down the barrel.
59 min: Kari Tulinius emails in: “Jonathan Wilson has the theory that I it can be bad for a team to score too early. That’s clearly the case when playing against Japan, who seem to get better the longer they’re behind. Costa Rica had the good sense to score against them late in the first half and won.”
57 min: Spain subs: Off go Williams and Morata, and on come Asensio and Ferran Torres.
56 min: Howard from Streatham messages in: “Might be late to this but where’s De Gea?” Yes, Unai Simon is taking the rap for this one so far. Meanwhile, the VAR has yet to show us the ball was in. Or an image to that end. Soccer!
53 min: AS IT STANDS: Germany are heading out. Japan’s subs again turning this group on its head.
Goal! Japan 2-1 Spain (Tanaka, 51)
Japan have the ball in the net again! Doan again, the ball running to the byline, and it’s knocked in. VAR run the check, and the ball looked to have run back out of play. Nagatomo looked to have not been able to keep it in. Was it in? It was! So says VAR. There must be nothing in it.
Updated
49 min: As it stands, Japan are going through on head to head. Well well well.
Updated
Goal! Japan 1-1 Spain (Doan, 48)
The drums, the drums, the drums continue. But what’s this? Doan, the sub, has scored. With one hell of a wallop, the ball dropping to him outside the box. Unai Simon was again guilty, first in dallying on the ball, secondly in not making the save. Well well.
Updated
46 min: One change for Spain, two for Japan. Dani Carvajal for Cesar Azpilicueta. And for Japan, Nagatomo and Kubo have gone off, and Doan and Mitoma of Brighton have come on.
More emails:
Roger Kirkby: “Hi John, fun fact for you. In the last 4 World Cups 13 times groups have been won by a team with 9 points. Not one of them went on to win it. The winners had 7 or 6 points.”
Alexandra Ashton: “Eagerly wearing my Japan shirt with my boyfriend, hoping for a miracle. As it stands, they’ve looked rather awful to my eye (I think it’ll be 2-0 Spain), although he contends Japan will “grow into the game” and win 2-1. Remains to be seen whether he or I will be proven right at full time.”
The emails are in.
Matt Dony: “Spain have a Rodri and a Williams on the pitch. They’re the new Wales. Dewch ymlaen, Sbaen!”
Simon McMahon: “Evening John. This is hardly BREAKING NEWS, but I’d think that come full time, Japan will be kicking themselves about the Costa Rica game. A missed opportunity. But you just never know I suppose, maybe they can turn this game around like they did against Germany. Whatever happens, their fans will still tidy up at full time and leave in an orderly, good-natured fashion. I think all fans should be more like the Japanese.’
Albert Farkas: “I can‘t help it, I just can‘t stand Morata‘s visage. He gives off vibes of a Spanish Patrick Bateman.”
Roger Kirkby: “Hi John, not the fireworks of last night, Japan really need to score or this is now dead rubber territory.”
In a previous life, I worked for an American company who banned the use of “dead rubber”, and didn’t like the phrase “cross-cum-shot” either. It had never crossed my mind that these were in way rude. I still don’t know why they are…
Some World Cup news for half-time reading.
Half-time: Japan 0-1 Spain
It’s been all Spain, and that relatively early goal from Alvaro Morata reflects their dominance. Japan have struggled but worked so hard to be still in the game. An even more manful effort is required in the second half, as Germany are winning the other match.
45 min: Gavi takes rap to the ankles from a Taniguchi tackle, and the offender is then booked. Then Yoshida is booked for smashing into Morata. Except he hadn’t. A simulation got the former Southampton player booked. Just one minute added on.
43 min: Olmo shapes to shoot and it’s blocked as Taniguchi slides in. Japan have defended redoubtably. So difficult for them to stem the flow.
41 min: Alejandro Balde, 19, one of the next gen, and already looks the part.
39 min: First booking: Itakura smashes into Pedri, who had been sold a little short by a Busquets pass. Painful one, but the Barca boy will be OK to continue. Itakura, playing as a wing-back, is now suspended for the next round should Japan get there.
38 min: Spain are finding this perhaps a little more ragged than they would like. But still in heavy control.
36 min: Are Japan getting somewhere? At last, the likes of Nagatomo are getting a touch, and Ito, and Kamada has a shot blocked. There was an offside there the referee missed.
Updated
34 min: Unai Simon turns a wobble into a counterattack, almost sending Williams away with a hurried hack with the ever hopeful Daizen Maeda giving chase.
32 min: Busquets takes a whack, takes his time getting up. So does Gavi. The 34-year-old has a yellow card and may be withdrawn as soon as this job is complete.
31 min: Japan get a glimmer but then Busquets shows off his trademark anticipation and the stats men tells Spain have had 79 percent of possession. If they had a striker, they’d be dangerous. Hang on, they have Morata.
30 min: Spain taking the sting out by passing around, moving the ball around at will, tiring out their Japanese chasers.
28 min: Japan are frustrated here. They came to press and are being pressed to distraction. Busquets looks their best route back in, and he is rather lax in playing the ball back to Unai Simon, who has to hurry up to launch the ball clear.
26 min: Peter Oh joins us: “This is a timely battle of goalkeeper nominative determinism, because Shuichi is Japanese for ‘once a week’, and Unai is Basque for ‘now’.”
25 min: Might have been a second when Rodri sets up a move, and Morata cuts it back. Offside, our semi-automated machine tells us.
23 min: Morata gets on the end of a Spain move that suddenly clicks into gear but can only shoot straight at Gonda in the Japan goal. Now comes some loud clapping in the stadium, and the drums, the drums, the drums.
21 min: Luis Enrique doesn’t look so chilled out on the bench now. What a player he was, by the way. Very much a predecessor to your Cesc Fabregas and Gavi types. His team is chasing down their opponents like demons, strangling them. The fans in the stadium are doing a Mexican wave, which may show what level of contest this has become.
19 min: Kubo, of Real Sociedad, goes down holding his face, having taken a whack from Dani Olmo. Spain are beginning to be the team who press hard now.
17 min: So, this group may be going as expected now. It’s left to Japan and Costa Rica ti supply any ripples to the expected way of things, and beyond Maeda’s good work, Japan have been full of energy but not much else.
15 min: The supplier of that cross was Azpilicueta, Morata’s old buddy at Chelsea. He knew exactly where his mate was going.
13 min: Morata, a much-maligned player, comes through for Luis Enrique again. There’s a real player there, and the Spain manager seems like the one who can find him.
Update: Costa Rica 0-1 Germany
Serge Gnabry has scored and that moves Germany into second in the group.
Goal! Japan 0-1 Spain (Morata, 12)
Spain decide to settle things down with some passing. Not that Japan are in the mood to let them settle. Williams and Gavi link, and then when the ball comes back out, the ball pinged back in and Morata heads in.
Updated
9 min: Spain go down the other end and force a corner. Dani Olmo’s chip finds Morata who can only head downwards. It was probably offside. It’s an open game, which is good news.
8 min: Busquets is having one, and Maeda is at it, stealing in and playing it to Kubo who can’t get the angle of his shot right. Signs here that Japan can repeat the energy of the Germany game, and that’s a problem for dear old Busquets.
7 min: Panic in the Japan box, as Nico Williams spins out wide from a Gavi pass. Busquets comes in to pick up the pieces but blams his shot over. Finishing has never been his strong point, has it?
5 min: Nice run from Kubo down the right-hand side has Spain a-quiver, he gets to the byline and then it takes a few turns to get the ball clear. Maeda of Celtic involved, too.
3 min: Gavi and Pedri are those who advance it further, and Japan hurriedly get the ball clear. In pre-match, they were warming up in formation, no point in trying to fox Luis Enrique. The formations, since you ask, are 3-4-3 for Japan, and Spain are 4-3-3 with Morata as the centre-forward.
Updated
1 min: The ball is, and this is little surprise, passed around the back of the Spanish team. That Spain defence features three changes.
The Fifa pop/pap anthem of togetherness and forgetting about politics rings out, the countdown begins, and away we go…
The referee, Victor Gomes, assisted by that minibus full of VAR assistants has an interesting back story, via Spanish daily As.
He has a reputation for being an authoritative ref, dishing out 51 straight red cards in 323 games he has officiated in although the vast majority of them were in the domestic South African league. In April 2018, he was also hailed by the South African Football Association after he revealed that he was offered US$30,000 (R362 556) in cash to fix the score of a CAF Confederation Cup tie between Nigeria’s Plateau United and Algerian side USM Alger - he turned down the offer.
The oversized World Cup is on display, the fireworks are going off, and the stadium has been dropped into darkness and back out again. And the two teams are out, and it’s time for the national anthems.
Vitals news from elsewhere in the World Cup.
Joe Pearson gets in touch: “‘Nobody is quite sure why the scheduling is working out like this’….To quote the late NBC Sports executive, Don Ohlmeyer, ‘The answer to all your questions is: Money’”.
Updated
The chance to meet Morocco or Croatia is at stake here. The winners of Group E will receive a day less to prepare for Croatia. Nobody is quite sure why the scheduling is working out like this.
Australia and Argentina would empathise.
Spain make five changes from the Germany draw, bringing in defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Pau Torres and Alejandro Balde. Nico Williams and Alvaro Morata get the nod in attack while captain Sergio Busquets, is a yellow card away from a suspension, remained among the starters at the Khalifa International Stadium.
For Japan, Moriyasu has also made five changes from the side beaten by 1-0 by Costa Rica. In defence, Shogo Taniguchi comes in for Miki Yamane, Japan’s third right back in three games at the tournament after Hiroki Sakai was injured in the 2-1 win over Germany. Ao Tanaka is brought in as a holding midfielder.
The teams
Japan: Gonda, Itakura, Yoshida, Taniguchi, Junya Ito, Morita, Tanaka, Nagatomo, Kamada, Maeda, Kubo. Subs: Kawashima, Yamane, Endo, Shibasaki, Doan, Mitoma, Minamino, Tomiyasu, Asano, Sakai, Machino, Ueda, Schmidt, Soma, Hiroki Ito.
Spain: Simon, Azpilicueta, Rodri, Pau Torres, Balde, Gavi, Busquets, Gonzalez, Williams, Morata, Olmo. Subs: Sanchez, Garcia, Llorente, Koke, Asensio, Ferran Torres, Raya, Guillamon, Pino, Jordi Alba, Carlos Soler, Carvajal, Sarabia, Laporte, Fati.
Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)
Alex Reid previewed this game for today’s World Cup briefing.
Japan v Spain (Group E, 7pm GMT, ITV1) A point would take Spain through, but a victory guarantees top spot and Luis Enrique’s slick young passers are unlikely to get bogged down with nefarious thoughts of a draw potentially hurting Germany’s chances. Expect Spain to hog possession and play for the win. Japan can take heart from the fact that they beat Germany (when expected to lose) and lost to Costa Rica (when expected to win). An underdog role may suit them and a point will be enough if Germany and Costa Rica draw. AR
Of course Rodri at centre-back for Spain.
Rodri was used at the heart of defence by Pep Guardiola – obviously – on a handful of occasions in the 2019-20 campaign, but he is inexperienced in the role. Throwing him in at the deep end at a World Cup was a risk, but Rodri has handled it well. At 6ft 2in, he has the physicality to play the role and he is brilliant at dispossessing opponents – only Declan Rice (82) has won possession in the midfield third more times than Rodri (70) in the Premier League this season. Rodri has the tools to excel at centre-back in the modern game, given his tenacity off the ball and impressive distribution when in possession.
Aymeric Laporte, the Spain defender, spoke to Sid Lowe in Doha.
Too much, Laporte insists. It doesn’t even make sense, Spain are not in a position to run risks. “Nothing’s clear: no one has anything assured,” he says. As for the pathway, he insists: “I haven’t even looked.” He grins but it’s believable. “I haven’t looked, haven’t done the predictions, haven’t done anything.” Do you even know which group yours crosses with? Spoiler: it’s F. “No idea.” You could tell him anything. England next. Laporte laughs. “Honestly, when I play for City, I don’t even know what time kick-off is. My family call and say: hey, what time tomorrow? ‘I don’t know.’”
So much for Mr Intensity, Luis Enrique is a chilled-out entertainer, streaming on social media and honestly really really relaxed at his news conference.
My streaming sessions and posting, everyone can have their own reading or interpretation, I didn’t start doing this with any specific goal.
There are so many cliches about training camps having to be very strict. I don’t know who came up with this. Imagine how long the players are off. They have so much time off to be bored. Having to follow strict rules. That’s ridiculous.
The only goal I set for my players...before this training camp 16 days ago, I told them we need to have fun, fun. We need to enjoy this because you have to joy in your job.
They’re football players. Some of them are young boys. They have family children, who have to act with normalcy
Having a day off after 10 days of a training camp. It’s not crazy. To go out for a walk with your wife, family members. That’s a good sign. Yes, they’re under so much pressure.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu spoke at his news conference ahead of the match.
They must believe in themselves, they must. They must believe in their team mates in order to fight against our opponent. Hopefully, they will be at their best and the result will follow.
The whole world is keeping in step with European football. Both tactically and physically, I think there are similarities in trends across the world, and the gap is narrowing.
We should be able to narrow the gap with the big teams as we play against them, and as we learn from them at this World Cup, we will also be able to find out how to exceed them.
We are going to show the Japanese spirit and pride and we are going to counter our opponents, fight our opponents. I hope that the players will play in such a way that they inspire the Japanese people then they keep inspiring other people.
The permutations.
Group E – Costa Rica, Germany, Japan, Spain
Final matches Thursday 1 December, 7pm GMT: Costa Rica v Germany, Japan v Spain
Spain: A draw will be enough for Spain to progress. However, if they lose and Costa Rica beat Germany, they will be eliminated – which would be a huge shock after opening the tournament with a 7-0 win.
Japan: A win against Spain will see Japan qualify. A draw means they are relying on Costa Rica and Germany drawing to progress. If Japan draw and Costa Rica win, Japan are out. If Japan draw and Germany win by just one goal, whoever has scored the most goals will go through. If Japan draw, and Germany win by more than one goal, Japan are out.
Costa Rica: A win will put Costa Rica through. A draw will be enough if Spain also beat Japan. If Japan get a draw, Costa Rica’s vastly inferior goal difference means they would not progress.
Germany: The Germans can qualify if they beat Costa Rica and Spain beats Japan. A draw is of no use to them.
Group E and Group F are paired in the draw. The winners of Group E play the runners-up of Group F in the next round, and vice-versa.
Preamble
The two great shocks of this tournament came when Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, and then when Japan beat Germany. Wednesday saw the Saudis perish, now can the Japanese avoid the same fate? Their losing to Costa Rica came as something of a shock, too, but now they must stage a repeat performance of their opener. Or draw and hope for the match between and Costa Rica to go their way.
Spain looked brilliant in their first match, and then against Germany fell prey to the torpor that has gripped just about every team at this World Cup when being pegged back by Germany getting it launched to Niclas Füllkrug. The feeling persists they need a proper hitman, though aren’t alone in that. Luis Enrique may be the tournament’s most intense coach, with apologies to Graham Arnold and Hervé Renard, making Pep Guardiola look liked Don Carlo Ancelotti.
Japan hope they can revive the verve of that German glory. If they do, then they might pull off another of the great shocks.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 2 | Japan | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 2 | -6 | 3 |
| 4 | Germany | 2 | -1 | 1 |
