Spain will face Morocco in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup after progressing to the last 16 as Group E runners-up following their defeat against Japan on Thursday.
La Roja only needed a point to be sure of at least a second place finish in Group E after starting the day at the top of the table, following a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with Germany in their opening two fixtures.
And whilst they were given a major scare, being beaten by Japan, they did enough to progress on goal difference despite Germany's victory. It is now Morocco who they will face in the last 16, with that tie taking place at 3pm on Tuesday, December 6 at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
Spain would have been guaranteed a place in the last 16 ahead of their final group stage clash with Japan had they beaten Germany in their previous game, but a late equaliser from Niclas Fullkrug ensured things would go down to the final round of fixtures.
That’s also because Costa Rica managed to overcome Japan with a 1-0 victory, ensuring three teams had picked up a win in at least one of their first two fixtures to leave all four teams fighting for a place in the knockout stages.
That meant La Roja topped the group on four points, ahead of both Japan and Costa Rica who were on three points, while Germany were left on one. Nonetheless, Spain still went close to bowing out as Costa Rica took the lead against Germany shortly after Japan went 2-1 ahead.
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Even if Spain had drawn with Japan and Costa Rica had won, Luis Enrique’s side would have still finished second, setting up a last 16 tie with the winners of Group F, which happened to be Morocco.
But as it turned out, Costa Rica were unable to beat Germany and Spain reached the last 16. They finished runners up to Japan, meaning they avoided a clash with European rivals Croatia in the next round - a repeat of their last 16 tie at Euro 2020 last summer in which La Roja emerged as 5-3 winners after extra time.
Croatia and Morocco both needed to avoid defeats in their final game to ensure a place in the last 16 - and that’s exactly what happened. Morocco’s 2-1 victory over Canada saw them steal top spot, while Croatia’s 0-0 draw with Belgium meant they finished as runners-up at the expense of the Red Devils.
It was predicted by many ahead of the tournament that Croatia would finish as runners-up in Group F, but not behind Morocco. The African nation went unbeaten across three matches to steal top spot, with Belgium failing to live up to their pre-tournament hype by crashing out.
