At the end of the double confrontation Germany-Costa Rica and Spain-Japan, the Samuraï Blue snatched their qualification in the round of 16. Spain qualify in pain as Mannschaft are eliminated.
An evening to drive crazy. After two matches in parallel with many twists and turns, Japan and Spain qualified for the round of 16 of the World Cup. Germany, it is eliminated for the second time in a row at the stage of the first round of the competition. A trauma for the Mannschaft.
However, the Germans did what they had to, laboriously beating Costa Rica 4-2. The Mannschaft quickly opened the scoring via Serge Gnabry in the 10th minute with an uncrossed header, before Yeltsin Tejeda equalized back from the changing rooms. The scenario turned into a nightmare for the Germans when Juan Pablo Vargas scored a second goal for Costa Rica in the 70th minute. In an evening which saw Jamal Musiala hit the posts twice, it was finally the entry of substitutes Kai Harvertz (scorer in the 73rd and 85th minutes) and Niclas Füllkrug (goal in the 89th minute) which allowed Germany to win.
Spain came close to elimination
A victory by two goals, which should allow them to hope for a qualification, if Spain were not to lose against Japan. But the incredible happened on the other lawn. The Samuraï Blue indeed turned La Roja 2-1 and offered themselves a surprise qualification in the round of 16 in first place in the group. If Alvaro Morata scored the first for Spain (12th minute), it only took three minutes for Japan to overturn the match on the return from the locker room, via Ritsu Doan (48th minute) and Ao Tanaka (51st minute). Spain may have made some 1,400 passes against 200 on the Japanese side, La Roja never managed to come back.
She even had a good scare when Costa Rica led against Germany: at that time of the evening, she was eliminated from the World Cup with the Mannschaft. Finally, only the German selection will pass through the window, the Spanish being content with the small door. By finishing second in the group, Spain will face Morocco in the round of 16. Japan will challenge Croatia.