The national teams of Costa Rica and Germany will meet tonight (Thursday, 21:00) in the decisive round of the group stage as both fight for the place in the next stage. Surprisingly, the Germans are in last place in house number 5 when they have only one point which was achieved in a draw against the Spanish team. Costa Rica, who defeated Japan, is in third place below the Japanese who will face the Spaniards in the corresponding match.
The meaning of the game is clear. Costa Rica, which opened the tournament with a 7-0 defeat to Spain, could advance to the next stage in the event of a draw against the Germans as long as the Japanese lose. Of course, a sensational victory will send Costa Rica to the next stage at the expense of Japan or Spain, depending on the result of the meeting between them.
The composition of the German national team: Manuel Neuer, Antonio Rudiger, David Raum. Nicolas Zola, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Ilkay Gondwan, Jamal Musiale, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller.
The composition of the Costa Rican national team: Keylor Navas, Juan Pablo Vargas, Kisher Fuller, Jalso Burgess, Oscar Duarte, Brian Oviedo, Yohan Vanjas, Joel Campbell, Yelastin Tiede, Kendall Watson and Brandon Aguilera.
There will be a number of interesting battles on the field, but a particularly spicy one will take place between Keylor Navas, goalkeeper of Costa Rica and former Real Madrid, whose home in the suburbs of the city is currently used by the Germany national team’s stopper, Antonio Rudiger. It turns out that when the defender left Chelsea and signed with the Blancos, he was looking for a place to live and Navas, who lives in Paris, was looking for a new tenant.
The match between the two was easy and Rudiger rents Navas’ house these days. “Will he throw me out in case we kick them out of the World Cup? I really hope not”, laughed Rudiger, who added on the matter: “I think as long as I pay the rent on time, he will keep me at home”. At 9:00 p.m. they will meet on the grass at the Khalifa Stadium, and for this meeting as well, Navas arrives in the position of strength.