There was a lot of drama last night in Group E of the FIFA World Cup. Four times World Cup winner Germany have been eliminated from the group round despite a 4-2 victory against Costa Rica. The Hansi Flick’s boys have been eliminated following Japan’s stunning victory over Spain.
As it happened
In Group E, Spain were at the top of the table, and Japan were only one point behind them. Therefore, Germany had no alternative but to defeat Costa Rica with a minimum five goals margin.
So, German boss Hansi Flick deployed his best possible XI against Costa Rica. He set up the team formation with 4-2-3-1, where Thomas Muller played as a center-forward. Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, and Serge Gnabry played just behind Muller.
However, Germany started playing very aggressively as they needed to win by a big margin. They didn’t have to wait much to score the first goal as Serge Gnabry found the net in the 10th minute. After that, the Germans highly pressed the opponents, but the scoreline remained unchanged in the first half.
At half-time, Germany went to second place in Group E as they were in lead against Costa Rica. But the point table changed in the second half as Japan scored two quick goals against Spain. Therefore, the Asian powerhouse had gone to the top of the table, and Spain slipped down to 2nd place. As a result, Germany came back at the 3rd again.
However, Germany scored three more goals and conceded one against Costa Rica. But it didn’t affect the point table. The Germans remained in 3rd place, thus excluding them from the group round for the 2nd successive FIFA World Cup.
On the other hand, Japan qualified for the last 16 as the group champion, and Spain became the 2nd. As a result, Japan will face Croatia in the last 16, while Spain will face Morocco.
Hansi Flick’s Reaction
After the elimination, Hansi Flick expressed disappointment. He said, “In the first half I was disappointed and very angry at my team and how we allowed the opponent to come back.”
“We wanted to score three or four goals in the first half but then we made mistakes. If we had converted those chances, 16 of them. But the tournament was not decided today for us. We did not have any efficiency at this tournament and that is why we were eliminated,” Hansi Flick added.