Germany defeated Costa Rica 4-2 in a thrilling match on Thursday at Al Bayt Stadium, but Kai Havertz scored twice as Germany suffered yet another early World Cup elimination.
Germany secured their first victory of the tournament but were eliminated at the group stage for the second straight World Cup. A win was necessary for Germany to have any chance of moving on to the round of 16.
Serge Gnabry gave them an early, thoroughly deserved lead, but Yeltsin Tejeda tied things up in the second half with his first international goal, and Costa Rica advanced to the knockout round after Juan Pablo Vargas gave them the advantage.
Soon after Vargas' goal, Havertz equalized and then put Germany back in front. Fellow substitute Niclas Fullkrug then added a late fourth for Germany. However, Japan and Spain were the teams to move from Group E, with the Samurai Blue taking first place following an unexpected 2-1 victory over Luis Enrique's team.
After only 10 minutes, Gnabry scored his first goal by glancingly heading David Raum's left-side cross into the far corner of the goal. As Germany continued to dominate, Keylor Navas stopped Leon Goretzka's header, Musiala fired wide after turning sharply and charging into the box, and Gnabry narrowly missed the target with a right-footed shot.
After an error by Antonio Rudiger, Keysher Fuller came close to tying the score late in the first half, but Manuel Neuer expertly deflected his shot around the post.
In the 58th minute, Tejeda was on hand to finish from close range after Neuer could only palm Kendall Waston's header into his path after hearing that Japan had taken the lead over Spain, sending Germany fans into a tailspin.
As Germany fought valiantly to survive, Musiala and Rudiger both struck the right-hand post on two separate occasions. After 70 minutes, Costa Rica shocked Germany once more by taking the lead, with Vargas getting the final touch after Neuer mishandled a ball into the box.
The joy of Los Ticos was short-lived, though, as Havertz scored quickly after coming off the bench and only a few minutes after Germany had fallen behind. He finished clinically with his right foot. With a stunning close-range stop, Navas denied Fullkrug, but Havertz coolly tucked in with his left foot at the back post.
Fullkrug appeared to be offside but was later given his second goal in as many games after a VAR review after slotting in from close range. Nevertheless, Germany lost the match on goal differential.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER? ANOTHER DEPRESSING DAY IN GERMANY
Germany paid the price for their unexpected loss to Japan in their opening game by waiting too long to maintain their World Cup chances.
They came in third, tied with Spain on points, but missed out after Japan pulled off another surprise to overtake Spain and place ahead of Costa Rica. After Hansi Flick's first major event as the captain, there will be another investigation because he exited at the same point in Russia four years prior.
MULLER FAILS ONCE MORE
Flick will undoubtedly face criticism for not starting Havertz or Fullkrug, who both scored in the 1-1 tie with Spain. Despite scoring 10 goals in his first 12 games of the World Cup, Muller has failed to score in seven of them, and the 33-year-old has undoubtedly played his last World Cup game.
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