DOHA: On Sunday, Costa Rica secured a thrilling late victory against Japan to split their World Cup group and release tremendous pressure on struggling Germany.
With a victory, Japan, who stunned four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their opening match in Qatar, may have made significant progress toward the round of 16.
But they struggled for extended stretches of their match against a Costa Rica team that had been humiliated 7-0 by Spain, and they paid the price when defender Keyser Fuller scored with a deflected shot in the 81st minute.
With Germany as their opponent in Sunday's late kickoff, Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica are now tied for first place in Group E with three points each.
Coach Luis Fernando Suarez of Costa Rica, whose team will play Germany on Thursday, declared, "We weren't dead yesterday and now we are still very much alive."
Nobody has yet forgotten about us, so we can continue to dream.
Coach Hajime Moriyasu of Japan believes his team has a chance to go to the knockout phase despite facing Spain in their difficult final group match.
Although Spain will undoubtedly be challenging, there is a fair probability that we will prevail, he remarked. We'll be well-prepared and confident going into the game.
Germany can now lose to Spain and still qualify for the knockout rounds if results fall in their favor as a result of Japan's setback.
Before the competition, it was nearly unimaginable to consider that Germany would leave the tournament early — four years after doing so at the same point as the 2018 finals in Russia.
In response to a rampaging Spain team that thrashed Costa Rica, Germany coach Hansi Flick claimed on Saturday that his team could recover.
Flick stated, "We have a team that has the quality and can put the things (we are working on) into practice. We are very optimistic about it.
"We must show up for this game against Spain with boldness and confidence in our abilities."
Spain's head coach, Luis Enrique, described the situation as a "wonderful challenge" as his team looks to advance to the round of 16 with a victory.
Despite Germany's World Cup history—they won their fourth championship in 2014—Luis Enrique issued a warning that nothing should be taken for granted.
They have four stars on their shirts, so you know they are world champions, he remarked.
"I have a lot of respect for their players; they are of the highest caliber, and you can see their history," the author said.
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