Greatest World Cup Matches: Spain-Japan (2022)

Spain entered the 2022 World Cup as one of the favourites. Following their 2010 title Spain had been an eternal favorite with hugely talented sides based on the apparently neverending flow of talented players. 

Spain had qualified ahead of Sweden and Greece, only losing one match, but manager Luis Enrique was nevertheless criticised for the style and selection of players, in particular the veteran Atletico Madrid player Alvaro Morata. 

That said, the 2022 squad combined experience and youth: The captain was FC Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, only player left from the legendary 2010 side. The goalkeeping post had been taken over by Bilbao’s Unai Simon, while the experienced Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea led a defense that included Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, Villarreal’s Pau Torres, the Real Madrid veteran Dani Carvajal, as well as Barcelona players that included veteran Jordi Alba, and the youths Eric Garcia and Alejandro Balde. Midfielders included Macnhester City’s Rodri, Ateltico Madrid’s Koke and Marcos Llorente, as well as Barcelona youths Gavi and Pedri, both players who had already accumulated good experience despite their young age. There were few all-out strikers, but many players with strong offensive capabilities, that besides the criticised Morata also included Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio, Athletic Bilbao’s talented Nico Williams, RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, and Barcelona’s youths Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati. 

Seeded in the top layer for the World Cup draw, Spain ended in a difficult group that included Germany, Costa Rica and Japan. Spain opened against Costa Rica and completely dominated a match they won 7-0, immediately becoming a team to watch. In their second match they played Germany and tied 1-1, and were to face Japan in the last group match. 

Japan had made important advances in football since its co-hosting of the World Cup in 2002, but had never made it past the last-16 in a World Cup. Still, they were considered a side to look out for as more and more Japanese players were making their mark in their clubs, and the team had qualified by winning 15 of 18 matches. The veteran Eiji Kawashima from Strasbourg was goalkeeper, but was replaced by another experienced goalkeeper Shuishi Gonda, from Shimizu S-Pulse. The experienced Maya Yosida from Schalke 04 was captain of the team and led from defense, alongside Ko Itakura from Borussia Monchengladbach and Wataru Endo and Hiroki Ito, both from Stuttgart. Takehiru Tomiyasu from Arsenal, and two players from Kawasaki Frontale, Miki Yamane and Shogo Tanigushi completed a strong group of defenders. A solid midfield included Wataru Endo, also from VFB Stuttgart, Ritsu Doan from SC Freiburg, Kaoru Mitoma from Brighton & Hove Albion, Takuni Minamino from Monaco, Daichi Kamada from Eintracht Frankfurt, and Takefusa Kubo from Real Sociedad. Strikers included Takuma Asano from VFL Bochum, Daizen Maeda from Celtic and Ayase Ueda from Cercle Brugge. 

Perhaps they were underestimated by  big European sides, but that proved wrong as the Japanese, with many players from German clubs, defeated Germany 1-2 in their opening match, after coming back from 0-1 down. Japan were big favourites against Costa Rica, who nevertheless came back from their Spanish routing, and won 0-1. 

So before their last group match Japan needed a good result against Spain in order to qualify for the next round. 

Spain were favourites as manager Luis Enrique put on a strong side for the match, and already early on it showed as Spain had possession and pressure in the opening phase of the match. It only took 11 minutes before the oft-criticised Alvaro Morata put his head on a cross from Azpilicueta and brought Spain ahead 0-1. Spain continued to dominate a first half with few shots on goal, and with Spain leading in possession. 

With the score in the other match 1-0 for Germany, it meant that Japan were eliminated, and Manager Harime Morijasu made two offensive changes: Kaoru Mitoma came on for Yuto Nagatomo, and Rutsu Doan came on for Takefusa Kubo. The changes were similar to those Morijasu made against Germany, and exactly like in that match it was the Freiburg striker Ritsu Doan who soon scored with a wonderful left-footed strike from outside the box to the top right corner of the Spanish goal. 

The goal clearly shook the Spaniards, who seemed perplexed at the sudden Japanese dominance, and only three minutes Japan took the lead: A low cross into the Spanish area appeared to go past the goal-line as Kaoru Mitoma rushed to make a cross; he reached the ball and crossed it into Ao Tanake, who from close to the goal-line slotted the ball into goal. 

The Spaniards protested loudly that the ball had gone out of play, and it did appear so indeed on TV. But this is when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) came in for a lengthy review and the goal was awarded with the argument that the ball was still touching the line, and thus still in play. 

VAR had been introduced at the 2018 World Cup, and this was surely one of the most marginal decisions: the ball appears to be out from a lot of angles, but from directly above, part of the curvature of the ball appears to still touch the line... 

With a 2-1 lead Japan naturally pulled back as Spain again took over the match; Spain had the ball almost all the time (they ended up with possession of 82% and 962 passes over Japan’s 188!), but was unable and without fantasy to force Japan’s disciplined and determined defense. 

In the other match Costa Rica surprisingly took the lead over Germany, a result that would mean that both Spain and Germany would be sensationally eliminated! Luis Enrique put in more strikers; chances only arrived towards the end of the match, but Japan held strong, and won the group. 

In the meantime, Germany managed to get back and win 4-2 over Costa Rica, meaning that Spain took second place in the group, while Germany and Costa Rica were out. The victory was historic for Japan, who topped a group for the first time since 2002 when they played at home. Nevertheless, they were eliminated in the last-16 after penalty kicks against Croatia, but surely will never forget this memorable (VAR) win over Spain.

Match Stats: 

• Qatar, December 1st, 2022, Khalifa International Stadium 
• Attendance: 44,851 
• Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa) 

Spain-Japan 1-2 

Goals: 1-0 Alvaro Morata (11) 1-1 Ritsu Doan (48) 1-2 Ao Tanaka (51)

Teams: 

Spain: Unai Simon; Rodri, Pau Torres, Cesar Azpilicueta (Dani Carvajal, 46), Alejandro Balde (Jordi Alba, 68); Gavi (Ansu Fati, 68), Sergi Busquets, Pedri; Dani Olmo, Nico Williams (Ferran Torres, 57), Dani Olmo, Alvaro Morata (Marco Asensio, 57). Manager: Luis Enrique 

Japan: Shuishi Gonda; Ko Itakura, Maya Yoshida, Shogo Tanigushi; Junya Ito, Ao Tanaka (Wataru Endo, 87), Hidemasa Morita, Yuto Nagatomo (Kaoru Mitoma, 46); Take Kubo (Rutsu Doan, 46), Daizen Maeda (Takuma Asano, 62), Daichi Kamada (Takehiro Tomiyasu, 69). Manager: Hajime Moriyasu 

Portugal`s second Nations League title

The UEFA Nations League started as a boring tournament to replace the many friendly matches in the national team calendars, and it has grown to become a tournament that teams look forward to winning, so it was with expectations that Spain and Portugal faced one another in the fourth final of the tournament.

Spain were favourites and dominated the first half of the first half. Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi brought the Spaniards ahead expectedly after 20 minutes, but only five minutes later the outstanding PSG player Nuno Mendes equalised for the Portuguese on a great play. 

But another real Sociedad player, Mikel Oyarzabal, brought Spain ahead yet again. 

40-year old Cristiano Ronaldo may not have the physical strength he once had, but he remains a marvelous footballer, and in his 221st national team appearance he scored his 138th goal when he deservedly equalised for Portugal in the second half. 

Shortly after Ronaldo had to leave the pitch though, much against his will, having to watch a strong Portugal side put pressure on the Spaniards. 

2-2, and after extra time the match had to go into a penalty shootout that Cristiano Ronaldo could hardly watch, but it was the veteran striker Alvaro Morata whose penalty was saved by Diogo Costa, giving Ronaldo and Portugal their second Nation League title. UEFA Nations League may not be the most prestigious tournament, but it was certainly an exciting final worth watching.

The Greatest Euro Matches: Spain-Croatia (2021)

Many things were special about the Euro 2020: first of all, it did not take place in 2020. Due to the global Covid pandemic of 2020 the tournament had to be postponed to 2021. Secondly, UEFA had decided that not one nation would host the tournament, but instead the tournament was to be hosted by 11 cities in 11 different countries. Even though the pandemic was in its wane, this caused enormous logistical problems as many countries still had restrictions about travel and assembly. It was a mess, but a mess with a lot of memorable football. 

24 countries participated, and two of the greatest, Spain and Croatia, gave us a memorable match in Copenhagen. 

Spain entered the country as favourites as always. Most of the players from their legendary 2008, 2010 and 2012 side were out, but one remained namely the captain from Barcelona, Sergio Busquets, who had played in 2010 and 2012. That said, the team counted a long list of experienced veterans and highly talented youngsters: Manchester United’s David de Gea guarded the goal with Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta providing defensive coverage alongside Barcelona’s veteran Jordi Alba, and Aymeric Laporte and Eric Garcia, both from Manchester City. In midfield alongside Busquets was the veteran Koke from Atletico Madrid, Thiago from Liverpool, and some hugely talented youngsters in Rodri and Ferran Torres from Manchester City and Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig. Attacking power appeared not to be as awesome but they had the young Pedri from FC Barcelona, alongside more experienced Alvaro Morata from Juventus and Gerard Moreno from Villarreal. In a side with so much talent from some of Europe’s best clubs, it was notable that there was not a signle player from Real Madrid for thge first time ever, something that the Manager, and ex-Barcelona player and manager Luis Enrique, was highly criticised for. 

Spain had appeared strong in qualification, winning their relatively easy group ahead of Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands and Malta. Despite all the criticism they were a team to count on, and most people expected them to win their first round group to be played against Sweden, Poland and Slovakia. 

But Spain did not look good at home in Seville and it appeared that Luis Enrique struggled with setting a team in the first two matches when they tied Sweden and Poland 0-0 and 1-1 respectively. Only in the last match did they oipen the floodgates when winning 5-0 against Slovakia, but this only put them in second spot behind Sweden, meaning that they would be going to Copenhagen to face Croatia. 

The Croatian side that had come second in the 2018 World Cup  was still a powerful but ageing side. The captain was the great Luca Modric from Real Madrid, who nevertheless was not always up for a full match. And although the great Ivan Rakitic was no longer part of the squad, the midfield was still awesome with players like Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic from Inter, Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, and Mario Pasalic from Atalanta. Defense was also solid with Dejan Lovren from Zenit St. Petersburg, Sime Vrsaljko from Atletico Madrid, Duje Caleta-Car from Marseille, Domagoj Vida from Besiktas and a young Josko Gvuardiol from Dinamo Zagreb. In attack the side counted players like Ante Rebic from AC Milan and Andrej Kramaric from Hoffenheim. 

Croatia had qualified first in their group ahead of Wales, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and had landed in a group with England, Czechia and Scotland, where they had not impressed: after losing 0-1 to England they had gone on to tie Czechia 1-1 and then a 3-1 victory over Scotland was good enough to make them runners-up behind the English, which put them face to face with Spain in Copenhagen. 

Neither side had impressed in the first round, going through only on their last match, so both managers started with similar lineups as in their last group matches. 

It was splendid match between two different, but equally splendid, sides. 

The first 19 minutes were all Spain with Croatia struggling to keep the Spaniards away, and Koke should likely have brought the Spaniards ahead. Instead, in the 19th minute, one of the weirdest drops in Euroean championship history happened. Croatia had hardly had a shot on goal, but Pedri made a pass back to goalkeeper Unai Simon, who totally missed an easy ball, which passed him and went into goal... 

 0-1 for Croatia, and the Spaniards were shaken as a confident Croatian side pushed forward and Vlasic and Kovasic had good chances for a second. That said, Spain slowly worked themselves back into the match and managed to again pressure the Croatians. In the 37th minute a string of shots and saves by goalkeeper Livakovic ended with PSGs Pablo Sarabia who equalised for Spain. 

Second half started with a new round of Spanish pressure, although a bit more careful. That said, it resulted in 2-1 when Cesar Azpilicueta scored his first goal for Spain on a header after a good center pass from Ferran Torres. The match flowed a bit more, and Croatia also had some chances, specially one where Unai Simon made a spectacular save, forgiving his mistake at the first half. But it was Spain that would not forgive: a long pass towards Ferran Torres, who rounded a young Gvuardiol and placed the ball perfectly behind Livakovic. 

3-1 Spain. 15 minutes to go. Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic put Ante Budimir on for Kovacic, and Matio Pasalic on for Vlasic. And then we all know that Croatia is never beaten! 

Croatians not only fight to the end, but they are also gifted footballers. They managed to put pressure on a Spain side that never really looked too strong in defense, and in the 85th minute it was the Dynamo Zagreb striker Mislav Orsic, who had come on for Rebic, who brought the score to 2-3 in a messy situation in the penalty box. 

Spain then got nervous while a hard-fighting Croatia got confident. Two minutes into added time Atalanta’s Pasalic made a perfect header from a perfect pass to make it 3-3, and extra time of an epic match. 

Croatia had a couple of good chances early in extra time, but while both sides were clearly tired after a fantastic fight, it seemed that the Spaniard’s technique might be their advantage. And so it was when Alvaro Morata scored a great goal for Spain: he perfectly controlled a difficult ball in the area and shot the ball into the near top corner of goal from a tight angle. It was a relief for the Spaniards as Morata had been highly criticised during the tournament, but this goal showed his quality. 

Three minutes later the Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who had come on for Ferran Torres, made it 5-3. 

It was in reality the end, although the heroic Croatians pushed forward as much as they could, and the Spaniards defended with the last of their strength. All in all, it was one of these splendid matches that have a bit of everything: mistakes, fantastic technique, heroic fights and a fair result. 

Croatia left the tournament with their heads held high (but surely knowing them, they were disappointed), while Spain went to the quarterfinals. They were to be considered one of the favourites, but after defeating Switzerland on penalty kicks, they went on to lose on penalty kicks as well to the later champions of Italy in the semifinals  

Copenhagen, June 28th, 2021, Parken 
Attendance: 22,771 
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir, Turkey 

Spain-Croatia 5-3 

Spain: Unai Simon; Eric Garcia (Pau Torres, 71), Aymeric Laporte, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jose Gaya (Jordi Alba, 77); Sergio Busquets (c) (Rodri, 101), Koke (Fabian Ruiz, 77), Pedri; Alvaro Morata, Pablo Sarabia (Dani Olmo, 71), Ferran Torres (Mikel Oyarzabal, 88). Manager: Luis Enrique
Croatia: Dominik Livakovic; Domagoj Vida, Duje Caleta-Car, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Juranovic (Josip Brekalo, 74); Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric (Luka Ivanusec, 114), Mateo Kovacic (Ante Budimir, 79); Bruno Petkovic (Andrej Kramaric, 46), Nikola Vlasic (Mario Pasalic, 79), Ante Rebic (Mislav Orsic, 67). Manager: Zlatko Dalic 

Goals:
0-1 Pedri (OG) (20) 
1-1 Pablo Sarabia (38)
2-1 Cesar Azpilicueta (57)
3-1 Ferran Torres (77)
3-2 Mislav Orsic (85)
3-3 Mario Pasalic (92)
4-3 Alvaro Morata (100)
5-3 Mikel Oyarzabal (103)

German debacle and Japanese triumph

 The Group of Death ended almost as a heart attack. All teams had a chance to go through and all teams were through and out at different times during the matches Costa Rica-Germany and Japan-Spain.

Costa Rica were not given many chances after their opening match 0-7 humiliation to Spain. But after a surprising win over Japan, they had every chance of going through if they defeated Germany. Germany in the meantime were forced to win, having only lost and tied to Japan and Spain respectively. Things were going according to plan when Serge Gnabry scored after 10 minutes, but despite dominating, Germany were simply unable to get another goal, and halfway into second half the Costa Ricans looked at a possible sensation when Yeltsin Tejeda equalized and then went ahead when Manuel Neuer scored one of the strangest own-goals of the tournament. Germany pressed on and in the end managed to win 4-2 with two Kai Havertz goals and one by Niclas Fullkrug.

But in the end Germany, the former footballing giants, were out in the first round nevertheless, for the second time in a row, and only the third time since 1938....

Germany only had themselves to blame, but at the same time they were not fortunate with the result of the other match where Japan defeated Spain against all odds.

It was a boring match in the first half. Spain went ahead on a goal by Alvaro Morata, and were passing the ball around comfortably against a Japanese side that appeared to have nothing to offer. Luis Enrique apparently saw no reason to change anything, but Japan certainly did and the manager put in Kaoru Mitoma to put more pressure in midfield and Ritso Doan, who had scored the equalizer against Germany when coming on. And it took only three minutes before the Freiburg striker capitalized on a high pressure on the Spanish defense and equalized for Japan.

The Spaniards appeared a bit shocked about the equalizer (which shows most of all a degree of arrogant conformity) and as Japan continued pressing they got the lead through Ao Tanaka.

Now, this was a controversial goal that no VAR technology can take away: the ball appears to have crossed the touchline as Kaoru Mitoma made the pass to Tanaka. I think it crossed, but lengthy VAR check found that it had not crossed the line. Although I still think it crossed the line, I must admit that different pictures from different angles may show different things...

I don't think technology is always right, and this is certainly one of those calls which are hard to decide.

But the goal stood, and Japan was ahead. 

It was here that Luis Enrique's reply appeared weak. Japan, as was to be expected, stood back and fought hard. But Spain continued passing the ball, relatively slow and without the quick explosions that are often necessary to open a defense. This was surely disappointing because Spain have some fantastic players, but appears to lack explosion and creativity when it comes to come back against a team they should defeat.

Japan will face Croatia in a match that could go to both sides, while Spain will face Morocco in a match where Spain has to be much better than they were today.

Life in the Group of Death

Before the tournament Group E was touted as the "Group of Death", with Germany, Japan, Spain and Costa Rica.

It does seem that the last round will mean the elimination of a team.

Germany lost their opening match against Japan, and were forced to pull a result against Spain. 1-1, after Niclas Fullkrug equalized Alvaro Morata's lead for Spain. Germany has one point, and is forced to defeat Costa Rica by some margin.

Costa Rica were terrible when losing 0-7 to Spain, and nobody must have given them a chance against the Japanese who were coming off fresh from defeating Germany. But that is football: a defensive match and only one shot on goal by Keysher Fuller was enough to cause the upset. Costa Rica are still in it, and will surely fight for a result against Germany, as unlikely as it may appear.

Things look more difficult for Japan. Had they defeated Costa Rica they would have been through, but can now look forward to a difficult match against Spain. A match they should win, assuming that Germany will defeat Costa Rica... If Germany wins, and Japan loses, Japan would be out. If they tie, it would come down to goals scored. Spain seems most secure due to their many goals, although they are not certain: if both Costa Rica and Japan win, both European sides would be out!

Incredible combinations in what will be an exciting last round in the Group of Death!

The first finalists

The semifinal match between Italy and Spain went as I expected except for the result: the Spaniards, whose quality has varied enormously during the tournament played some of their best football against an Italian side that was not allowed to play the possessive attacking style that has characterized their games in the tournament so far, and with better strikers Spain could have carried the day. 

Despite Alvaro Morata´s equalizer following Federico Chiesa´s outstanding first goal for Italy, Spain missed big chances or simply poor shots against an Italian side whose defense did not look as steady as in previous matches (this may be a comfort to their opponents in the final). 

In the lottery of penalties the misses came firstly from Dani Olmo, who until then had played an outstanding match, and then Morata, whose miss will probably be remembered more than his goal, and add fuel to his many critics. 

Although Spain deserved better in this match there is no doubt that seen over the entire tournament Italy are the right finalists. They have been strong and have a strong team spirit led by the ever-smiling Chiellini, who appears to love every moment of the tournament. 

Perhaps Chiellini is one of the few people who have realized that it is only football, and enjoying it must come before the result... 

Like almost every Dane in the world I am excited about tomorrow´s match, but weary about Danish chances against a top-motivated English side playing in front of its home spectators. Denmark (luckily) defeated England in a Nations league match in October last year (a prelude to their excellent World Cup qualifiers and this tournament) and will play without the massive pressure of expectation that burdens the English players. But I would still say that chances are heavily stacked (90%) in England´s favour to make it to the final and face a fantastic Italian side!

Real Madrid-Legia Warsaw

I am not a Real Madrid fan. But as a football fan it is important to visit all the great football venues, so as I happened to be in the Spanish capital I went into watch the Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Legia Warsaw.

It is indeed a place waded in history, proud and impossible to intimidate. The rowdy and loud Legia fans screamed like crazies, but nothing can intimidate experienced Real Madrid fans, who have seen everything, and who are really there to see THEIR own side play great football. In that sense Legia and their fans were just today's complementary extras. 

I have the greatest respect for Real Madrid fans, just as for Barcelona fans, and this visit confirmed it.

Real Madrid fans were interested in seeing the team after some poor performances. Although they won 5-1, the performance was not outstanding against a quite poor Polish team. Without Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos the team looked shaky in defence, where they gave away a silly penalty, and Keylor Navas made some fine saves. Cristiano Ronaldo had a bad day (and perhaps should have been taken out earlier) while the fans were happy to see some of the lads from the "cantera" come in and score in the second half: Lucas Vazquez scored and excellent goal on a pass by Alvaro Morata, while Morata himself scored the last goal.

Borussia Dortmund defeated Sporting Lisbon and are now leading the group, but it is clear that Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will be the two sides to progress to the knock-out stages.

Interesting experience and I am now able to say that I have been at the legendary Santiago Bernabeu.

Epic

The Champions League last-16 match between Bayern Munich and Juventus was epic. Both teams showed that the Champions League will be much poorer without one of them, and that both teams, besides superior technical and tactical skills, have stamina and will.
Juventus were splendid as they went ahead 0-2 (just as Bayern had done in Turin, before Juventus equalized), and particularly the second goal, with Morata's run and Cuadrado's cool finish, was fantastic.
But 0-2 down, Bayern Munich are still never beaten, and it took two headers by Lewandowski and Muller, in the last minute of the match, to take the match into extra time.
While cruel indeed to the Italians, it remained an admirable comeback by the Germans.
In extra time the changes of Pep Guardiola made the difference, Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman (who is on loan from Juventus) made it 4-2 and put Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
It was the kind of matches that made my day; made my week in my boring life!

The fall of the Champions

Real Madrid is the team of records in the Champions League, and this year they were hoping to become the first team to win two finals in a row. But it was not to be: they ran into a highly motivated and well-organized Juventus side whose Alvaro Morata, who grew up in Real Madrid's ranks, scored to eliminated his friends from Madrid.
Juventus were fantastic underdogs in both matches. They played like they really wanted the title. They were very organized and played with discipline.
Can they defeat mighty FC Barcelona? They have to play their best, but the Catalonians are not invincible!
So where does Real Madrid go from here? First of all, this should mean that Carlo Ancelotti is out. The problem is not that they will win no titles; the problem is rather that they have no plan, no tactics. If anyone should know that you cannot rely on your brilliant players alone, it should be Real Madrid! Against Juventus he played with fear: when they were up 1-0 Real Madrid drew back to defend, instead of attacking and closing the match.
They played more Italian than the Italians!
If I wanted Real Madrid to win, it would only have been for the great Iker Casillas, who has suffered several unfair attacks this season, and has been blamed for defeat after defeat. Ironically, the "old man" was the best player of Real Madrid, so I hope he shut up all those idiotic fans who cannot see that Spain's and Real Madrid's problems are not due to Iker Casillas, but due to their coaches!