World Cup 2022, Germany shocks: Japan parties

Germany – Japan 1-2 at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha

Someone had said it, “At the World Cup there will be many surprises.” Said and done, after Argentina’s ruinous fall at the hands of Saudi Arabia, it was Germany’s turn to suffer an incredible comeback by Japan on Wednesday. The defeats of the two biggies have sinister commonalities: both leading at the end of the first half, and interestingly both thanks to a penalty kick, Argentina and Germany then suffered a comeback in the second half. The South Americans cashed in on Arabia’s one-two within 5 minutes, the Germans within 7. Crazy.

In Doha, the Teutonic men started off strong right away, creating several headaches for the Japanese formation. However, it takes a penalty kick, at mnute 33, to take the lead: Gundogan coolly converts, and everything suggests a race downhill for Flick’s team. But no.

In the second half Germany still seemed to master the field, but a mockery was just around the corner. In the 75th minute it was Doan who sealed the equalizer for the Asians thanks to a winning tap-in after a rebound by Neuer on Minamino’s shot, and just 7 minutes later Asano scored a great goal with a missile under the crossbar after a splendid volley. It was not enough for Germany’s usual Qatar 2022-branded recovery (7 minutes of recovery time allowed, with the referee playing even longer): at the final whistle Japanese joy exploded.