Spain vs Germany: An early final
Germany desperately needs a win to stay alive and Spain wants to secure their spot in the next round
Decisive game on Sunday at the Al Bayt Stadium (kick-off at 7 pm). The Die Mannschafft have the pressure to avoid their second elimination in a row at the World Cup group stages, while Spain want to continue showing that the lack of goal is not a problem anymore.
Both teams have a similar style of play. The battle in the midfield will be key to decide the game.
Gündogan was the best German player against Japan, finding the small gaps in the Samurai Blue defense to feed the strikers. However, Hans-Dieter Flick decided to replace him for Goretzka in the minute 67 and then the game became an end to end, resulting in an historic win for the Asian team.
On the other side, Spain destroyed Costa Rica on Wednesday due to the great performance of Pedri and Gavi, who made their debut in a World Cup without feeling pressure. Their brilliant vision allowed La Roja to get a 7-0 win, their biggest victory in the World Cup.
Both teams are between the favourites to win the tournament and know the Sunday’s match will be very different from their first fixture.
Germany could have scored more goals in the first half against Japan, but they are forced to defend better.
Spain will also have the challenge to face the moves of talented players like Musiala, Gnabry or Havertz. Rodri could start again as a center back due to his ability to press and connect the defensive line with the midfield.
In the pre-match press conference, both managers proved right this feeling:
“If anyone knows how to compete, that’s Germany,” said Luis Enrique. “You look at their shirt and they have four stars. They have a lot of players who are world class, their history is there”.
“We want to avoid going back home again,” said Flick. “We will see a German team who know what is at the stake. It feels like a first final for us at the World Cup”.
The teams faced each other two years ago in the UEFA Nations League with a 1-1 draw in Stuttgart. But two months later, Spain managed to get a 6-0 win at La Cartuja.
Their last tie at the World Cup was in 2010, when they faced in the semifinal. Spain won 1-0 with a great header from Puyol and the rest was history for La Roja.
Spain and Germany will compete knowing the result of the Japan – Costa Rica tie (kick-off at 10 am).
History and pedigree are on the line in the best match of this World Cup group stages. Will Germany finish their journey in Qatar sooner than expected?
Read next:
Japan vs Costa Rica: the Ticos Last Chance of Reconstruction
