Germany punished by efficient Japan

Another shock result in the World Cup saw Japan pmount an astonishing comeback to beat Germany 2-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Action: Germany dominated for the majority of the first half, but were hesitant with their final pass because of Japan-s speed on the counter-attack.

Despite a strong start from the Germans, it was Japan who created the first opportunity of the game. Celtic's Daizen Maeda tapped in a cross, but it was ruled out aforoffside.

With half an hour played, Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda fouled David Raum in the box and from the penalty spot, Ilkay Gundogan made no mistake and put his nation in front.

That goal settled the nerves for Hansi Flick's men and they became even more dangerous in the last minutes of the first period and they actually scored on the stroke of half-time through Kai Havertz, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Die Mannschaft kept on the pressure and came close to doubling their lead twice in the first 15 minutes of the second period. 

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Firstly, Jamal Musiala was close to scoring one of the great World Cup goals after dribbling past three Japanese players in the box but he smacked the ball over the bar. Shortly after, Gundogan hit the outside of the post after more great work from Musiala.

Midway through the second-half, Gonda kept the Samurai Blue in the game with four saves in quick succession.

Japan started to believe they could upset the 2014 World champions and they nearly scored in the 73rd minute when Manuel Neuer produced a superb save to deny Takuma Asano an equaliser.

And just two minutes later, Hajime Moriyasu's men levelled after three substitutes combined: Kaoru Mitoma feeding Takumi Minamino, whose cross-shot was only palmed away by Neuer to Ritsu Doan, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

Buoyant after the goal, Japan went in front with less than 10 minutes to play when a long ball over the top found Asano, who controlled it, shifted the ball away from Nico Schlotterbeck and squeezed a finish over Neuer. 

The Japanese held their nerves for the rest of the game to celebrate an epic win over Germany.

Next up, Germany will play Spain, while Japan face Costa Rica with both games set to be played on Sunday.

Monumental moment: There are things more important than football... Germany players placed their hands over their mouths during their prematch team photo, while the country's interior minister Nancy Faeser sat next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino wearing the "OneLove" armband.

In a statement published shortly after the game started, the German Football Association warned FIFA: “Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position.”

It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us.

Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position. pic.twitter.com/tiQKuE4XV7

— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 23, 2022

Man of the Match: Takuma Asano. The Bochum forward came on and had an instant impact in game. 

Firstly, his powerful header nearly levelled the game only to be superbly saved by Manuel Neuer and then sparked wild celebrations in the Japanese section when he executed a magnificent piece of control and fired the dramatic winning goal past Neuer.

Reaction: Talking about the subs made Hansi Flick said: "We just wanted to bring in fresh energy. Thomas (Müller) hasn't played for a long time, so that was the right thing to do. These are individual mistakes that we shouldn't make, but we did make them. That's why we lost."

xG: Germany (3.53) 1-2 (1.33) Japan

Stat of the Day: Japan have won a World Cup match in which they conceded first for the first time in their history (D2 L7 before today).

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🙏 Thanks to all of those involved; may the best team prevail!

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— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) November 16, 2022