Japan shocked Germany 2-1 in the opening World Cup Group E match with 2 goals from substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano in the final 15 minutes.
Germany’s worries were soothed by Ilkay Gundogan, who calmly put Germany in the lead following a penalty against Japan.
Raum appeared to have been clipped by goalkeeper Gonda as he cut back after receiving a deep ball from Kimmich.
Raum is then shoved to the ground by the goalkeeper as he attempted to stand back up, and the referee was forced to point to the spot.
At the very end of the first half, Kai Havertz had the opportunity to double the lead, but his shot was deemed offside.
In the previous World Cup, Japan came close to defeating Belgium. Despite having a 2-1 advantage, they were defeated by Belgium’s brilliant counterattack.
Ilkay Guendogan converted a 33rd-minute penalty kick for Germany after Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda fouled wing back David Raum. At that point, Germany was outplaying Japan in the game at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Ilkay Gundogan moved Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda to the right before slipping the ball pass the goalie in the 33rd minute.
Germany’s four-time world champions led Japan 1-0 at half-time after midfielder Ilkay Guendogan converted a penalty in the 33rd minute of their World Cup Group E encounter at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Before the halftime break, Kai Havertz believed he had made it 2-0, but VAR ruled it for an offside. Japan forward Daizen Maeda also had a goal disallowed.
In the opening period, Germany made 14 attempts at goal, scoring five of them, compared to Japan’s one attempt and failure to score.
Mitoma’s pass sent Minamino flying down the inside-left channel. After that, substitute Doan scored from six yards out after Minamino sent in a shot-cum-cross that Neuer expertly parried.
Japan’s equalizer was scored by substitute Ritsu Doan!
Another substitute, Asano, scored an incredible goal in the 83rd minute. He caught a long ball down the right side and shot quickly into the box.
Inside the six-yard box, Asano outran Schlotterbeck and fired the ball past Neuer at the near post.
After losing to Mexico at the 2018 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round as champions, and to France at Euro 2020, Germany’s loss to Japan was their third straight loss in the opening game of a major championship.
A spectacular victory for the Blue Samurai, who now have a realistic opportunity to advance from a very difficult group. This is made possible by two impactful substitutions, four critical back-to-back stops by the goaltender, and a valiant, relentless performance by all 11 players on the field.
Germany can’t possibly have two consecutive group stage knockout, right? They will play with Spain on Sunday and they must be beat the European giants to stand a chance of making it to the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Even Though Germany were stunned by Japan, the German players would be proud that they were able to use the match to preach against discrimination.
It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us.
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 23, 2022
Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position. pic.twitter.com/tiQKuE4XV7
