Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
For the second time in two days, we saw a massive upset in the FIFA World Cup 2022 as on Wednesday the four-time world champions Germany suffered a shock defeat (1-2) at the hands of Japan in their first match in Group E. On Tuesday, it was Argentina that got floored by Saudi Arabia 2-1.
Japan started their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign on the brightest note beating yet another trophy favourites Germany at the Khalifa International stadium in Qatar.
Germany began well by keeping possession and ball control. They even scored the first goal of the match in the 33rd minute through Ilkay Gundogan’s penalty. However, things changed for good for Japan in the second half. Two late goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano in the 75th and 83rd minute, respectively, gave Japan a commanding 2-1 lead against Germany.
The Germans did come close to scoring on a few occasions later but failed. Come to the seven-minute injury time, Germany even opted for an obvious all-out attack that saw them getting two chances in the end but sadly all their efforts seemed to go in vain. A sharp Japanese defence ensured the scoreline doesn’t change, and in the end, they won the match by 2-1.
Germany will now be facing heavyweights Spain in their next must-win encounter to avoid a repeat of the 2018 World Cup.