The biggest casualty of the World Cup so far happened in the last two days of group league matches in Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup when four-time champions Germany crashed out. This is the second Cup in-a-row in which Germany has failed to move up in the competition and this time it was despite Germany beating Costa Rica 4-2.
Amid this, Japan stunned Spain 2-1 in the other Group E match, a result that handed those two teams a spot in the Round of 16.
Germany finished third in the Group E standings, behind Spain on goal difference, with Japan top. The result left Japan facing Croatia in the last 16, while Spain will take on Morocco.
Croatia, Belgium draw
Unable to break the 0-0 deadlock at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Belgium crashed out of the World Cup as they ended the group stage with four points behind Croatia (6) and Morocco (7). Romelu Lukaku missed five open goal chances inside the six-yard box that came back to haunt Belgium’s golden generation.
In the other group stage match, Morocco beat Canada 2-1 to finish the group on the first spot, following up on a 0-0 draw against Croatia and a 2-0 win against Belgium.
Morocco beat Canada
Morocco became the first African team to top a World Cup group for 24 years finishing higher than the previous edition’s runners-up Croatia and the second-ranked team Belgium.
After beating Germany 2-1 in its opener, Japan found its way into the round of 16 of the World Cup by defeating Spain by the same score in their last group game Thursday. Spain also advanced despite the loss. Japan scored twice early in the second half to come from behind and defeat another European powerhouse and make it to the knockout stage for the second straight time. It was the first time Japan has advanced past the group stage in back-to-back tournaments.
Germany beat Costa Rica
Germany had an entertaining 4-2 win over Costa Rica, though the result remained academic for the four-time champions.
Germany were eliminated at the first hurdle as holders at Russia 2018, scored three times in the final 17 minutes to finally see off a Costa Rica side who held their own ambitions of progressing to the round of 16. However, Japan’s win against Spain in the other game meant those two sides qualified at the expense of Germany.
Teams qualified for the Round of 16 of FIFA World Cup 2022
| Group | Teams qualified (1st position) | Teams qualified(2nd position) |
| A | Netherlands | Senegal |
| B | England | USA |
| C | Argentina | Poland |
| D | France | Australia |
| E | Japan | Spain |
| F | Morocco | Croatia |
| G | Brazil (TBD) | |
| H | Portugal (TBD) |
FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 schedule
- Group A 1st (Netherlands) vs Group B 2nd (USA)
- Group C 1st (Argentina) vs Group D 2nd (Australia)
- Group E 1st (Japan) vs Group F 2nd (Croatia)
- Group G 1st (TBD) vs Group H 2nd (TBD)
- Group B 1st (England) vs Group A 2nd (Senegal)
- Group D 1st (France) vs Group C 2nd (Poland)
- Group F 1st (Morocco) vs Group E 2nd (Spain)
- Group H 1st (TBD) vs Group G 2nd (TBD)
