Japan produced yet another shock at the 2022 World Cup as they came from 1-0 down completely out of the blue against Spain.
Having conceded an early Alvaro Morata strike, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that their opening day win over Germany had been a complete fluke and that the 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica had taken the wind out of their sails.
However, just when it looked as though Group E was going to trundle rather predictably towards Spain and Germany progressing to the last 16, everything changed in a matter of seconds.
What happened in Spain vs Japan?
That’s because Japan scored twice in the opening few minutes of the second-half to turn things around so dramatically that the Asian nation suddenly found themselves leading the group.
Ritsu Doan got the party started in the first major attack since the interval, but it was Ao Tanaka who bagged the truly game-changing goal to transform Japan’s near-elimination into first place.
Nevertheless, the goal came in incredibly controversial circumstances with the ball appearing to have left the pitch before it re-entered play and eventually ended up in Unai Simon’s net.
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Should Japan’s goal have stood?
The whole footballing world did a double-take as they watched and rewatched Kaoru Mitoma sliding on the very edge of the pitch to prevent a Spain goal kick and divert the ball to Tanaka.
But despite VAR taking a good look at things, the goal stood, so Japan could duly complete their stunning turnaround and watch on as the subsequent debate erupted all over social media.
Before you assess how other fans, pundits and ex-players are viewing the situation, though, be sure to take a look for yourself to see whether you think the ball stayed in play or not.
https://twitter.com/wc22updates/status/1598409232595968001
It’s a tough one, isn’t it?
While the general consensus seems to be that the ball did indeed sneak out of play, it’s so insanely close that you’d be hard-pressed to make a conclusive verdict either way with the human eye alone.
Given that the whole of the ball has to be over the whole of the line, it’s a prime example of why goal-line technology has been such a valuable addition to the game as this case would have been a nightmare had it been between the sticks just a decade ago.
Who qualified from Group E?
Japan’s shocking comeback at the Khalifa International Stadium naturally meant that Hajime Moriyasu’s men qualified for the second round as group winners.
Having beaten the group’s two strongest nations against all the odds, the Samurai Blue set up a clash with Croatia on Monday December 5 at the Al Janoub Stadium.
However, the Group E drama wasn’t confined to Spain vs Japan as it actually took a late rally from Germany to ensure that Las Rojas weren’t sent packing after just three games.
Germany needed late goals from Kai Havertz and Niclas Füllkrug to come from 2-1 down against Costa Rica, ultimately saving Spain from elimination, but not proving enough to spare them a second consecutive World Cup group stage exit.
As a result, Spain qualified for the next round as group runners-up and duly have a date with Morocco to look forward to on Tuesday December 6 at the Education City Stadium.
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