Day 8 of the FIFA world cup was a great day for football fans as two tournament favorites, Spain and Germany, faced each other. One was trying to get an automatic ticket to the next stages of the world cup, and the other was trying not to get a flight back home. Spain had trashed Costa Rica 7 goals to nil in their first game of the world cup, and Germany had suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Japan.
Spain was in a better place during the match, and Germany was fighting for longevity at the international tournament. The game ended 1-1, with Germany still facing a high chance of leaving the tournament early. Alvaro Morata had come off the bench to score a first-touch goal, with another substitute Niclas Fullkrug grabbing a late equalizer for Germany.
Earlier during the day, after beating Germany, Japan faced a massive defeat at the hands of Costa Rica, who showed more interest in winning the game. Fuller had scored the only goal of the game, which made the group wider as anyone could qualify after Spain failed to capitalize on Germany. However, Spain has more chances of qualifying in Group E than Germany, whose fate is still in their hands.
African giants made history against European giants Belgium who have very low chances of making it to the next stages of the tournament. Morocco, who didn’t win their first match of the tournament, impressed a lot of football fans with Hakim Ziyech, proving that he’s still got it as a footballer. Belgium will have some questions to answer as top football players like Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku failed to move their nation forward.
Canada is officially out of the Qatar World Cup 2022 after they failed to hold on to their early lead — Alphonso Davies had scored the fastest goal of the tournament in less than 2 minutes of starting the game. On the other hand, Croatia proved they are still an underdog in the tournament after coming from behind to trash Canada 4 goals to 1. This is Canada’s first coming to the world cup in 36 years, and they failed to capitalize on their chance.
Japan vs. Costa Rica Highlights and Summary
Costa Rica has given themselves hope of making it to the next round of the Qatar World Cup 2022 after they claimed victory in a game they were least favored to win. On the other hand, Japan failed to keep up with their winning run in the tournament after surprisingly defeating Germany in their last game.
Keysher Fuller’s late winner against Japan was what decided the game, and that was the first shot on target Costa Rica had in this latest edition of the tournament. Japan had tried to retaliate immediately, but Keylor Navas had put up an impressive display to ensure that his country had a chance to move to the knockout stages of the world cup.
Lineups
Japan lineup
(4-2-3-1): Gonda, Yamane, Itakura, Yoshida, Nagatomo, Endo, Morita, Kamada, Soma, Ueda.
Costa Rica lineup
(4-4-2): Navas, Waston, Duarte, Calvo, Oviedo, Fuller, Borges, Tejeda, Torres, Campbell, Contreras
Goals
Fuller 81′
Belgium vs. Morocco Highlights and Summary
Belgium failed to impress against Morocco; none of their players showed any reason why they are dubbed “the golden generation.” Morocco showed that they didn’t have anything to lose at the World Cup, with their talisman Hakim Ziyech displaying quality and elegance.
Hakim Ziyech had his great free-kick goal ruled off by the VAR after a long check showed that a Moroccan player was offside. Kevin De Bruyne, who everyone expected to turn up for his country, played a rather silent game with Eden Hazard making unnecessary dribbles. The first-choice shot-stopper of Morocco had earlier complained of eye pain just before kickoff before being replaced by Munir Mohamedi.
Lineups
Belgium
(3-4-3): Courtois, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Meunier, Castagne, Onana, Witsel, T. Hazard, De Bruyne, Batshuayi, E. Hazard
Morocco
(4-3-3): Munir Mohamedi, Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui, Ounahi, Amrabat, Amallah, Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal
Goals
MOR — Sabiri (73 mins)
MOR — Aboukhlal (93 mins)
Croatia vs. Canada Highlights and Summary
Croatia vs. Canada was a match in which Canada had shown initial signs of winning, but Alphonso Davies’s early goal was canceled with four goals as Croatia showed Canada, who was more mature at world cups. Before the match, Canada’s boss had made a statement saying that Canada would deal with Croatia — That statement didn’t live up to its hype.
Luka Modric’s side showed quality as Canada will now be haunted by the chances they missed against Belgium. In the match vs. Belgium, the side showed a great display of football but didn’t win due to the chances they wasted. Croatia only needed a draw or a win to move automatically to the next round of the Qatar World Cup 2022.
Lineups
Croatia
(4-3-3): Livakovic, Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Livaja, Kramaric, Perisic.
Canada
(3-5-2, right to left): Borjan, Johnston, Vitoria, Miller, Laryea, Eustaquio, Buchanan, Hutchinson, Davies, David, Larin.
Goals:
CAN — Alphonso Davies (2 mins)
CRO — Andrej Kramaric (36 mins)
CRO — Marko Livaja (44 mins)
CRO — Andrej Kramaric (73 mins)
CRO — Lovro Majer (90 + 4 mins)
Spain vs. Germany Highlights and Summary
Spain vs. Germany lived up to its hype. However, only two goals were recorded in the match. It was a match for which many football fans had many things to look out for — Some were more interested in comparing the youngsters Pedri and Musiala. In contrast, others were focused on the supremacy between the two countries.
Luis Enrique made a big difference when he brought Alvaro Morata from the bench, which immediately impacted the pitch with his goal before Fullkrug equalized later. Spain needs a win or a draw to move to the next world cup stage, while Germany’s fate is not in their hands.
Lineups
Spain
(4-3-3): Simon; Alba, Laporte, Rodri, Carvajal; Pedri, Busquets, Gavi; Olmo, Asensio, Torres
Germany
(4-2-3-1): Neuer; Raum, Kehrer, Rudiger, Sule; Kimmich, Gündoğan; Musiala, Goretzka, Gnabry; Muller
Goals
ESP — Alvaro Morata (Jordi Alba) — 62nd minute.
GER — Niclas Fullkrug (Jamal Musiala) — 83rd minute.
Today’s Matches
| Country | Group | Stadium |
| Cameroon vs. Serbia | G | Al Janoub |
| South Korea vs. Ghana | H | Education City |
| Brazil vs. Switzerland | G | Stadium 974 |
| Portugal vs. Uruguay | H | Lusail |