Niclas Fullkrug’s late goal gave Germany a breather as Álvaro Morata’s 62nd-minute goal was disallowed in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group E meeting on Sunday, ending the tie in a 1-1 draw. -1. But Germany is still hurt. For the first time in a World Cup edition, Germany failed to win their first two group matches as they now sit bottom of the points table. However, there is still hope for Die Mannschaft, albeit a slim chance of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar.
Japan had stunned Germany in their opener early last week before they managed to keep Spain in the battle between the former champions. The results leave Germany relying more on other factors to reach the round of 16.
Germany currently sits bottom of the Group E points table, led by Spain with four points, and followed by Japan (3) and Costa Rica (3).
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For the four-time World Cup winners to reach the knockout stage, they need to beat Costa Rica and hope Spain emerge as winners in their last group match against Japan. In this case, Spain will go to the next round as the leader of Group E with 7 points while Germany will be the second classified with 4 points.
However, if Japan write another great goal to beat Spain, the only way for Germany to advance to the round of 16 would be to not only beat Costa Rica, but also surpass Spain in terms of goal difference. As of now, the 2010 World Cup winners have a goal difference of +7 to Germany’s -1.
On the other hand, if Japan dominates Spain, Germany would have to beat Costa Rica and improve on Japan’s goal difference to qualify.
