QCOSTARICA – A thrilling Thursday in Qatar has brought into question Germany’s international status as one of football’s finest teams and Costa Rica’s must-do attitude wasn’t enough to move forward.
Despite a win against Costa Rica, Germany are out of the 2022 World Cup at the group stages. And underdog Japan’s win over Spain, ensured that even if the Ticos had beat Germany, they would still be heading home.
The end result, both Germany and Costa Rica wound up dumped from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, without making it past the group stages.
In a Group E match against Costa Rica in Qatar’s Al Bayt Stadium on Thursday evening, December 1, the German national team won 4-2, but failed to make it through to the knockout stages.
Parallel, Japan secured a 2-1 victory. Germany’s and Costa Rica’s fate was sealed. For a brief moment, when Costa Rica was up 2-1, it even seemed like Germany were heading for fourth place in their group.
But not for long, Havertz and Füllkrug brought it back, netting three more goals to win the match 4-2. It wasn’t enough to advance Germany to the knockout stages, but it did ensure they rose to third place in the group.
The Ticos ended up in fourth place, the basement in the group.
Costa Rica’s taking the second spot from Japan was a long shot at best. Even if Japan had lost and Costa Rica had won, their 7-0 loss to Spain days earlier would have weighed heavily against them in the final points count.
In group E, Japan shined facing both Spain and Germany, giving the Japanese unexpected success against the European giants of football. Costa Rica’s 81st minute 1-0 win over Japan threw Group E open right up to the last minutes.