Day 8 of the 2022 World Cup: Infamous Belgium and a chance for Germany

The next day of the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar was rich in events: the sudden failure of Belgium, the transformation of Croatia and the first super match at the tournament.

Japan - Costa Rica - 0:1

Those who hastened to write off the Costa Ricans as outsiders were mistaken after a major defeat from Spain (0:7) - this “red fury” was too good, and nothing could be done about it. However, to be objective, it was the Japanese who played enough to win - they were more active, surpassed the representatives of Central America in shots on goal - 14:4. But too often, the Japanese hit the milk, and not the frame protected by Keylor Navas.

And in the end, the only, and even clumsy kick of the Costa Ricans on target - this was done by Keisher Fuller in the 81st minute - ended in a single goal. I wonder if the limit of luck has been exhausted or is it enough for the Germans too?

Belgium - Morocco - 0:2

Are the Belgians really in second place in the FIFA rankings? In Qatar, this is unnoticeable. Uncertain game in the first match with Canada (1:0) could be attributed to anything - starting jitters, acclimatization and so on. But the team with such names cannot be written off the defeat from the Moroccans.

And this is not the case of Costa Rica: the Moroccan team played boldly, in no way inferior to Belgium, leaving her only two-thirds of the possession of the ball. At the 73rd minute, Abdelhamid Sabiri opened the gates of Thibaut Courtois, and in stoppage time, Zakaria Abukhlal finished off the opponents. Frankly speaking, I would like to see such Moroccans in the 1/8 finals more than such Belgians.

Croatia - Canada - 4:1

There is still gunpowder in the flasks of the Croats! Canadians started briskly, as in the match with Belgium, but went out even faster. At the 2nd minute Alphonso Davis brought the “maple leaves” forward, but it soon became clear that the Canadians are superior to the “checkered” except in speed. The Croats pulled themselves together and took the lead even before the break: Andrei Kramaric scored in the 36th minute, and Marko Livaya scored in the 44th.

At the beginning of the second half, the Canadian team had two good attacks, but did not squeeze anything out of them, and the Croats, due to brilliant interaction, finished off the opponent after the balls of Kramaric (70) and Lovro Mayer (90 + 4). Croats will not go far, but they will leave a good memory of themselves. But Canada, following Qatar, lost its chances for the playoffs.

Spain - Germany - 1:1

Football dessert, unlike other delicacies, is not harmful, and therefore it was saved for the evening. The first match of the leading teams in the tournament was a success, although neither the Spaniards nor the Germans can be satisfied with a draw.

The first half turned out to be fast, full of mutual pressure, but no one got a decisive advantage. After the break, the attacking game of the Spaniards gave colors to Alvaro Morata – he opened the scoring in the 62nd minute. And after that, a more open game began. But the Germans still did not deserve a second defeat in a row, so the goal of Niklas Füllkrug in the 83rd minute looked logical. And if Leroy Sane and Joshua Kimmich, who fell out to the gates at the last stoppage minute, scored, the German national team could have won. Before the last round, the Germans are the last in the group with a single point: we must defeat Costa Rica and hope for Spain to win against the Japanese.