The 2010 world champions were given an 11th-minute lead in Doha by striker Álvaro Morata, who also made his mark in the third league game and with three goals topped the scoring chart. In the 48th and 51st minutes, substitute Rica Doan and another midfielder Ao Tanaka turned the tide.
The Japanese pulled off another league surprise, defeating another European giant after Germany, who are out of the tournament despite a 4-2 win over Costa Rica. Moving on to the knockout stage, they followed up their participation in the round of 16 of the previous championship. The Spaniards lost after four games, but will miss the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six World Cups.
Both managers made five lineup changes since last round, and it was one of the newcomers to the starting XI, Morata, who opened the scoring. The 30-year-old Atlético Madrid forward pounced on Azpilicueta’s cross and headed past goalkeeper Gonda from close range. The top scorer of the current selection “La Roja” scored his 30th international goal.
Morata could add the second goal in the 23rd minute, when his slide shot was saved by Gonda. For the rest, the first half was played without major opportunities. The Spaniards held the ball 78 per cent of playing time and the Japanese, who needed at least a point to keep their promotion hopes alive, mainly defended. The situation was complicated by the end of the opening act, when all three forwards received yellow cards in quick succession.
The first half of the match between Japan and Germany (2:1) had a similar trend, including the same score, and even today the Asian team achieved a turnaround after switching sides. In the 48th minute Doan equalised, whose shot at the front post failed to be pushed over the three posts by Simon. The Freiburg midfielder scored against Germany as a substitute.
Immediately, another new man on the pitch, Mitoma, found Tanaka’s goal in front of goal. The goal had to be confirmed by the video referee, as the Brighton player was only able to cross just before the ball left the pitch at full blast.
The favorite managed just one scoring chance in the rest of the game, although due to the current state of the parallel match between Costa Rica and Germany, he found himself out of the promotion ranks for a while. In the 90th minute Olmo finds himself alone in front of Gonda after a good combination, but only the prepared Japanese goalkeeper hits.
