Football News: FIFA World Cup: Japan vs Spain Preview and prediction
The scenes of joy that accompanied Japan's memorable win against Germany on Thursday were in stark contrast to the despair felt when they succumbed to Costa Rica's first shot on target of the tournament ten minutes from time
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Can Japan be a Giant killer again?Japan dominated the game but lacked ideas in the final third, and they will need to improve their creativity if they are to get the result they need against an in-form Spanish side.
After witnessing Spain's game against Germany, it's safe to say that their World Cup hopes are still alive and well. Although the game was evenly matched throughout, Spain's second-half substitutes made all the difference in the end. With Alvaro Morata scoring the winning goal off the bench, Spain took home the victory. However, German sub-Niclas Fullkrug managed to score seven minutes from time, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Later today: Japan vs Spain. <a href="https://t.co/IANOCdugfr">pic.twitter.com/IANOCdugfr</a></p>— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarcaUniversal/status/1598263134526971904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Although a draw wasn't exactly what Spain was hoping for, it's still enough to see them through to the next round as long as Germany also draw with Costa Rica.
A draw would be enough to see Japan through to the next round as long as Germany also draw with Costa Rica.
However, realistically, Japan will need to beat Spain to progress. Spain will top the group with a draw unless Costa Rica beat Germany, while defeat would only be costly if Germany also loses.