Matches in Group E of the2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 23 November to 1 December 2022.[1] The group consisted ofSpain,Costa Rica,Germany, andJapan. The top two teams, Japan and Spain, advanced to theround of 16.[2] Japan became the third ever and the first Asian team to win a World Cup group since themselves inGroup H andSouth Korea inGroup D, both in the2002 edition, a tournament both countries co-hosted. Germany was eliminated in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament after going out as defending champions in2018. This was the second time the reigning world champions were eliminated in the group stage of the two subsequent tournaments, followingItaly, who was eliminated in the following two group stages after winning the2006 edition.
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Rankings[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2022[nb 1] | October 2022 | |||||||||
| E1 |  Spain | 1 | UEFA | UEFA Group B winners | 14 November 2021 | 16th | 2018 | Winners (2010) | 7 | 7 |
| E2 |  Costa Rica | 4[nb 2] | CONCACAF | CONCACAF v OFC play-off winners | 14 June 2022 | 6th | 2018 | Quarter-finals (2014) | 31[nb 2] | 31 |
| E3 |  Germany | 2 | UEFA | UEFA Group J winners | 11 October 2021 | 20th[nb 3] | 2018 | Winners (1954,1974,1990,2014) | 12 | 11 |
| E4 |  Japan | 3 | AFC | AFC third round Group B runners-up | 24 March 2022 | 7th | 2018 | Round of 16 (2002,2010,2018) | 23 | 24 |
Notes
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Advanced toknockout stage |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 4 | |
| 3 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 |
In theround of 16:
All times listed are local,AST (UTC+3).[1]
The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2006 friendly, a 2–2 draw.[5]
Japan'sDaizen Maeda would convert a cross into the net 8 minutes in, but the goal was ruled out for offside. In the 33rd minute, Germany was awarded a penalty when Japanese goalkeeperShūichi Gonda fouledDavid Raum inside the area.İlkay Gündoğan converted the penalty via a shot down the middle of the net, with the goalkeeper diving to the right.[6] Germany would have the ball in the net again just before half-time throughKai Havertz, but the goal was then once again disallowed for offside.
In the 75th minute, Japan equalized throughRitsu Dōan, after he finished a rebound into the net following goalkeeperManuel Neuer's save from a low shot from the left. Japan went in front eight minutes later, whenTakuma Asano received the ball down the right wing before pulling away from defenderNico Schlotterbeck towards the penalty area and shooting high above Neuer into the net past the near post.[7]
The result marked the second consecutive occasion that Germany lost their opening World Cup match, after a1–0 defeat to Mexico in2018. Following his substitution on in the 79th minute, the contest also saw the return ofMario Götze in a World Cup match, his first since scoring the decisive goal in extra time of the2014 final againstArgentina.[8]
          Germany |      Japan |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had met on three occasions, all of them friendlies, with the most recent being a 5–0 home win for Spain in 2017.[10]
Spain dominated possession, and were up 3–0 at half-time thanks to goals scored in a span of 20 minutes byDani Olmo,Marco Asensio andFerran Torres from the penalty spot. Torres would get his second goal of the match nine minutes into the second half, before teenagerGavi scored Spain's fifth goal via an outside-of-the-foot volley in the 74th minute. Late strikes from substitutesCarlos Soler andÁlvaro Morata saw the match conclude in a 7–0 Spanish win, the biggest margin of victory in a World Cup game sincePortugal beatNorth Korea by thesame scoreline in 2010. Costa Rica failed to record a single shot throughout the entirety of the contest, whilst Spain scored with each of their first seven shots on target.[11]
Costa Rica equalled their worst ever defeat, a 7–0 loss toMexico in 1975, while this was Spain's biggest win at a World Cup, surpassing their6–1 success againstBulgaria in 1998.[12] At the age of 18 years and 110 days, Gavi became the youngest ever player to both play and score in a World Cup match for Spain; he was also the youngest player to score for any team in the competition sincePelé forBrazil in1958.[13]
| Spain | 7–0 | Costa Rica |
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| Report |
     Spain |     Costa Rica |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had previously met four times, all in friendly matches, with Japan winning three and drawing one;[15] their most recent encounter was a 3–0 home victory for the Japanese in 2018.[16]
Japan, who made five changes to their starting lineup that won against Germany, dominated the match, but it was Costa Rica who would go in front with nine minutes remaining.[17]Keysher Fuller scored with a shot from the right which was deflected and misjudged by Japan goalkeeperShūichi Gonda, and this would end up being the only goal of the game.[18][19]
| Japan | 0–1 | Costa Rica |
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| Report |
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Japan |     Costa Rica |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had previously met in 26 previous matches including four times in the World Cup: Germany recorded a2–1 group stage victory in1966 and a2–1 second group stage win in1982, the sides had a1–1 group stage draw in1994, and Spain earned a1–0 semi-final win in2010. Their most recent meeting was in the2020–21 UEFA Nations League, with Spain winning6–0.[21]
In the first half, Spain'sDani Olmo had a shot that goalkeeperManuel Neuer turned onto the bar. In the 62nd minute, substituteÁlvaro Morata put Spain into the lead when he flickedJordi Alba's cross from the left into the net at the near post.[22]With seven minutes to go,Niclas Füllkrug, also a substitute, equalized for Germany when he lashed the ball with his right foot high past Spanish goalkeeperUnai Simón from the right.Leroy Sané nearly won the contest for Germany in stoppage time when he was through on goal, but the ball eventually went out of bounds after he ran out of space to run.[23]
Spain |  Germany |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams previously faced each other once in 2001, a friendly won 1–0 by Spain.[25]
AfterÁlvaro Morata scored with a header from five yards out after a cross fromCésar Azpilicueta on the right to give Spain a 1–0 half-time lead,Ritsu Dōan equalized for Japan early into the second period, with his strike from outside the penalty area overpowering goalkeeperUnai Simón and going into the top right corner of the net.Ao Tanaka put Japan in front just three minutes later with a close range finish, with the assist coming from a cut-back byKaoru Mitoma on the left, seeing the ball hover within millimeters of the left sideline.[26] This would prove to be the decisive goal, as Japan won 2–1 to top Group E ahead of Spain and Germany, the latter being eliminated in the first round for the second tournament in a row.
Due to the tightness of the call, the circumstances surrounding Japan's second goal sparked much discussion.[27] The live television camera angle created an optical illusion as if the pass to Tanaka was out of bounds, and thevideo assistant referee took several minutes to confirm that a sliver of the ball stayed in the field, making it a valid goal. The crucial evidence that settled the dispute was thebird's eye photo taken by Petr David Josek, released by theAssociated Press after the match.[28][29] Josek revealed that a total of four agencies — AP,Reuters,AFP andGetty Images —[29] were approved to enter thesuspended catwalk to take bird's eye photos, but the latter three missed the shot because they were at the opposite side of the pitch anticipating a Spanish goal instead.[28][29]
Japan's victory with only 18% of possession was the lowest for a winning side at a FIFA World Cup match since records began in1966.[30] The match would later draw comparisons with theJapan women's team's 4–0 win againstSpain at the2023 Women's World Cup, with Japan's mere 23% possession also breaking the record for lowest by a winning side at the tournament (since recordings began in2011).[30] Both the men's and women's team showed a similar tactical plan against their Spanish counterparts.[31] Japan's progression from the group marked the first time they ever reached the knockout stage in consecutive World Cups.[32][33]
Japan | Spain |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had only met once prior, when hosts Germany defeated Costa Rica 4–2 inthe opening match of the2006 FIFA World Cup.[35]
After taking the lead in the first half throughSerge Gnabry, Germany would be pegged pack in the second period following goals from Costa Rica scored byYeltsin Tejeda andJuan Pablo Vargas. Germany would quickly rally back with a brace fromKai Havertz and a late effort converted byNiclas Füllkrug to win the match 4–2, the same scoreline as the teams' previous World Cup encounter.
Despite the victory, Germany were still edged out of second place in the group by Spain, as a result of the latter's superior goal difference. This meant that the2014 champions had failed to reach the knockout stage in the two subsequent tournaments following their last World Cup title (having finished bottom of their group in2018), the same fate that befell2006 winnersItaly in2010 and2014.[36] Costa Rica exited the competition as the team with the worst goal differential, in spite of the fact they won one of their three matches.
Costa Rica | Germany |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:[2]
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Points | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | ||
| Spain | 1 | −1 | |||||||||||
| Germany | 3 | −3 | |||||||||||
| Costa Rica | 2 | 3 | 1 | −6 | |||||||||
| Japan | 3 | 3 | −6 | ||||||||||
