FIFA World Cup: Germany VS Spain: Live score and match prediction

All the stars aligned for them, with Gavi becoming the youngest player since Pele to score a World Cup goal. Alvaro Morata also proved his fitness and critics by coming off the bench late in the game and scoring.

Germany's World Cup hopes have taken a severe blow from their loss to Japan, 2-1. Poor performance and lack of ideas led to their defeat, and Germany now faces the likelihood of an early World Cup exit for the second time in a row. On the other hand, Japan fought with boundless energy and took its chances well.

The much-anticipated battle between Germany and Spain in the tournament group stages has taken on even more importance following Germany's loss to Japan. Spain would not be given the same liberties as Costa Rica, so the Germans must be strategic in their approach if they wanted to have any chance of winning. A draw is unlikely enough to save their tournament, so they must find a way to score against the Spanish defence without leaving themselves vulnerable to Spain's potent offence. The Germans must be tactful early in the match to avoid being disadvantaged.

Germany will be happy as Japan stumbled against Cost Rica early today, but Spain is still favourite to win.