In seemingly the first major encounter of the FIFA World Cup 2022, the 2010 champions Spain came face-to-face with four time champs Germany that saw both teams fight to a draw in Match 28. The Germans entered the match with a point to prove after a shocking defeat at the hands of Japan in their opening match, while Spain clinched a thumping 7-0 win over Costa Rica in their previous encounter.
The match begins and almost instantly, the Germans are on the attack, trying to create early scoring opportunities and take a quick lead over the Spaniards. 39 minutes into the first half, Germany seemed to have scored their first goal as Antonio Rudiger takes in a free kick from Gundogan that swung into him, and pushes it into the Spanish goal as Rudiger was totally unmarked, having ample space to make his move. However, it just crept into an offside position which was caught on VAR which immediately ruled out the goal. With 45 minutes up, 2 minutes of extra time were added, which does not yield any result as the first half ends goalless for both sides.
The second half begins and the Germans are on the attack. At 50 minutes, Germany get a free kick from the left that is sent into the Spanish box, however it is out of reach for everybody from the left. In the 56th minute, Germany made their best scoring effort of the match as Gundogan sent the ball to Kimmich who shot at the goal, but Simon made a perfectly timed dive to his right and cleared the ball away. Spain is saved by their goalkeeper!
It has been over 60 minutes, and no goals scored yet by either side. A couple of minutes out, substitute Alvaro Morata scores the much awaited opening goal for the Spaniards. Olmo passess the ball to full back Alba, who squares it cleanly to Morata, who gets ahead of Sule and smashes the ball to the roof of the German goal. At 62 minutes, the Spaniards took a 1-0 lead over Germany.
Over 70 minutes up, Leroy Sane tried to cut in from the right and played the ball down for Musiala with two players on the Spanish goalkeeper. However, the opportunity doesn’t convert as the Spanish defenders get in between just in time to thwart the effort. The Germans are in complete attack mode as they fire a series of free kicks at the Spanish goal, the closest one being a kick from the edge of the Spanish box by Kimmich which he shoots into the defense wall. The resulting corner also doesn’t yield anything for the Germans.
Over 80 minutes had passed, and the Germans were desperately looking for an equalizer, else they would be kicked out of the tournament early. 83 minutes in, substitute Niclas Fullkrug nicely received a pass from Leroy Sane and took it down the right and smashed it into the Spanish goal. A much needed goal for the Germans to finally level the score at one goal each!
With 6 minutes of extra time added, there seemed to be a big chance for Germany in the closing moments as Leroy Sane was sprinting towards the Spanish goal with the left with Unai Simon closing in carefully to try and narrow down the striker’s angle. He gets in deep at the perfect time to close down the angle and Sane completely misfoots his run and the execution. Unai makes an excellent save and averts a certain defeat, since a goal at this last moment could have led to a Spanish loss. The match ends with both teams tying out each other 1-1.
This draw has finally given Germany a much needed point in their kitty. They still do have a chance of making it to the knockout stages. For that they have to beat Costa Rica in their next match and also hope that Spain defeats Japan in their next. These two matches will decide Germany’s fate in this World Cup.
Stay tuned with 90agency as we keep bringing you everything you need to know about every match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.