The team will go to the round of 16 in all cases except one: that a defeat against Japan is combined with a victory for Costa Rica over Germany, which still has options
No need to take the calculator out of the drawer. The accounts are simple. Spain qualifies for the round of 16 if they win or tie with Japan, of course, and they will do so as first in all cases except if Costa Rica beats Germany. Even losing, next Thursday (8:00 p.m.), she would only be eliminated if the defeat is combined with the Costa Rican victory.
Qualifying is virtual. It doesn’t tarnish Füllkrug’s whiplash seven minutes from the end, and in a bad kick from behind, the remarkable game of Spain, only surpassed in the last quarter of an hour by the arreón of Germany for the pride of avoiding a second defeat, less embarrassing, yes, than the one suffered with Japan. After all, the white eleven has not beaten the red eleven since 1988 in an official match.
complexed they
At this rate, the complex will begin to have Germany compared to Spain. How history has changed. The Mannschaft footballers congratulated themselves on the point obtained at the last minute, in the same way that the Spanish repeated the same expression: “What a pity!”
What a pity not to have added the second triumph so cherished and so deserved, for a more ambitious staging despite the fact that the urgency was at someone else’s expense. Álvaro Morata exhibited the fine touch that he has saved and Füllkrug showed the impressive power of the shot so that the two most genuine nines were the ones who scored the goals.
many coincidences
The curiosity of the night was the symbolic Barça-Bayern pulse on a small scale. They are the two most represented teams with their internationals in the tournament. Five Barcelona faces (Alba, Busquets, Gavi, Pedri and Ferran) met again against six representatives of the Bavarian team (Neuer, Kimmich, Goretzka, Gnabry, Musiala and Müller).
Nothing that was seen on the field referred to the disasters suffered by Barça. Gavi, Busquets and Pedri knew how to triangulate to dislodge Kimmich and Goretzka and Alba was the one who overwhelmed Gnabry and not the other way around, to the point of serving the assist for Morata’s goal. The only thing missing was the icing on Ferran Torres. He sent a ball into the clouds that he did not count due to Olmo’s previous offside.
An offside as clear as Antonio Rüdiger’s. He missed the semi-automatic detection the first time and the second time as well. The center-back clearly went ahead to head only a lateral free kick. Germany celebrated the goal profusely and after hugging they saw referee Makkelie, the one who whistled Bayern-Barça in the Champions League, annulled it. He did it at the behest of the VAR. Guess who? Yes, the infamous Pol van Boeckel.
appointed day
It was a marked day for Luis Enrique, painful, but fondly remembered despite the fact that it reminded him of the most tragic event of his life. The coach did not dodge it, on the contrary, he shared it on the networks. He revealed the coincidence with the date of birth of his daughter Xana, who died on August 29, 2019 from osteosarcoma when she was 9 years old.
“Today we not only play against Germany. Today is also a very special day because Xanita would be 13 years old. Love, wherever you are, lots of kisses and have a great day. We love you. Goodbye,” said the coach in the video.
Germany jumped into the field with relief, protected by a net that prevented it from falling into the ravine -if Japan had won- to keep the options thanks to the victory of Costa Rica, which equalized the classification below.
Losing to Spain did not certify elimination for the second consecutive time in a World Cup, something never seen in the past. She was always among the first six classifieds – that is, a quarterfinalist at least – until that brilliant career was cut short four years ago.
Perhaps that is why they did not appear as an eager team. Because Costa Rica gave him an extra life to play it face to face. One of them will accompany Spain.