One of the top teams of the tournament, Germany, crashed out of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in the group stage itself. This is the second consecutive group exit for Germany, after the 2018 World Cup. After winning the 2014 World Cup, it is a catastrophe for this European country to exit the tournament in the group stage for two consecutive times.
In the first match against Japan, Germany lost by 2-1. It tied the second game against Spain by 1-1. It needed to win against Costa Rica and also wanted Spain to beat Japan to qualify for the Round of 16. It defeated Costa Rice by 4-2. But Japan defeated Spain by 2-1 and kicked Germany out of the tournament. Japan and Spain advanced to the round of 16 from Group E.
Japan is having a dream run in this tournament. It has beaten top teams Spain and Germany to become the table toppers. The Asian giants are expected to continue the impressive run in the knockout stages as well. As of now, 12 teams qualified for the Round of 16. The remaining four teams will be confirmed tonight. The confirmed matches of the Round of 16 are as follows:
Netherlands vs USA
Argentina vs Australia
Japan vs Croatia
France vs Poland
England vs Senegal
Morocco vs Spain