Japan vs Spain
Japan’s Gaku Shibasaki with the anime shin pads ?? pic.twitter.com/KsRnGIzaLw
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 27, 2022
Spain vs. Japan at 2 PM EST on FOX ⚔️
Who ya got? 💪 pic.twitter.com/7F98R0zRpi
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 1, 2022
SportsMole:
Group E leaders Spain will lock horns with second-placed Japan in an intriguing 2022 World Cup contest at the Khalifa International Stadium on Thursday evening.
Both nations failed to claim maximum points in their last group game, with La Roja forced to share the spoils with Germany, while the Blue Samurai suffered defeat against Costa Rica.
After recording a shock 2-1 comeback victory against Germany in their opening Group E fixture, many tipped Japan to come away with all three points from Sunday’s clash against Costa Rica.
However, the Blue Samurai were condemned to a slender 1-0 defeat by their Central American counterparts, with Keysher Fuller scoring the decisive goal nine minutes from time to blow Group E wide open ahead of the final round of fixtures…
Spain will be confident of returning to winning ways on Thursday as they have never lost in five previous World Cup meetings against Asian opposition in 90 minutes – a penalty-shoutout defeat to South Korea back in 2002 is one small blot on their copybook.
La Roja have also won their final group fixture in eight of their last nine participations at the World Cup, with a 2-2 draw against Morocco in 2018 the only exception during this run.
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Costa Rica vs Germany
An all-female refereeing trio will take charge of the Costa Rica vs. Germany game.
Stéphanie Frappart will be joined by assistants Neuza Back and Karen Diaz.
History makers. 👏#CRC | #GER | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/HmH8xvW8JY
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 30, 2022
SportsMole:
The bottom two sides in World Cup 2022 Group E prepare for a mouthwatering battle for qualification on Thursday, as Costa Rica tackle Germany at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Hansi Flick’s side left it late to rescue a 1-1 draw versus Spain last time out, while Los Ticos kept their hopes of a last-16 place alive by beating Japan 1-0.
Refusing to let the seven-goal mauling that they suffered at the hands of Spain affect them, Costa Rica dusted themselves down to meet a Japan side who had got the better of Germany only four days before, but it was the Asian nation who would be humbled this time…
Nothing less than a win will do for Germany if they are to break into the top two on Thursday, and a victory for Flick’s side coupled with a Spain win over Japan would ensure that the one-point basement side advance to the last 16.
On the other hand, should Spain and Japan play out a draw, Germany would need to win by at least two goals to pip the latter to second place, and if Hajime Moriyasu’s men can pick up a shock win over La Roja, then Flick’s men would need a five-goal swing in their favour to eliminate Spain…
Thursday Afternoon World Cup Open Thread: Japan vs Spain / Costa Rica vs GermanyPost + Comments (43)