World Cup Daily: Germany Dumped Out, Martinez Sacked And Japan Shock Spain

What a day of World Cup drama!
22:26, 01 Dec 2022

The best day of the group stages so far? Yeah, well, since last night for sure. A stonking night of football saw Germany dumped out at the group stage for the second World Cup in a row and Japan pull off yet another shock to top Group E. Here’s the latest news from the 2022 World Cup on a thrilling Thursday! 

Bye-line drama for Japan

Japan deserved all the headlines for their 2-1 win over Spain, which saw them top the group ahead of the 2010 champions, but there was a moment of controversy that some in the ITV studio just couldn’t get over. In the build-up to the second Japan goal, the ball was adjudged by the assistant referee to have sneaked out of play, but after a Var review, the goal was given.

This bewildered millions on social media, and Graeme Souness in the studio as he fumed that there wasn’t any conclusive evidence and the ball ‘looked’ over the line. Cue Twitter being full of people deciding to film footballs from different angles in their kitchens. The World Cup eh? It makes you do crazy, crazy things.

Roberto Martinez gone after Belgium go out

After the evening’s activities, it is easy to forget that the afternoon was also jam-packed with action. After Belgium were eliminated after being held to a 0-0 draw by Croatia in a game which saw Romelu Lukaku’s best connection come from his fist into the dugout, boss Roberto Martinez confirmed his departure. 

The Golden Generation have missed their chance, and their now former boss has paid the ultimate price. He is unlikely to be remembered fondly around that particular part of mainland Europe. 

Germany out!

Yep, Germany are at it again - out in the World Cup group stages for the second tournament in a row. They ended with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica but ultimately it was goal difference that dumped them out, as Spain thumped the same opponents 7-0 in their opening game. 

That debated Japanese goal will haunt them, but ultimately they haven’t done enough to get out of their group. It’s a defeat that leaves Hansi Flick in all sorts of trouble, and he said after the result: “We'll work that out quickly, it's difficult to answer now right after the game when we're eliminated. We'll see about that soon”

HansiFlickResignationcopyjpg

Morocco’s party continues

Hakim Ziyech took advantage of a goalkeeping error to put Morocco ahead and they didn’t look back as they secured a 2-1 win over Canada to top group F. Now they are going to face Spain in the last 16, which is hardly a just reward for their performances so far. Judging by what they’ve produced, however, they could pull off something special. 

Suarez refuses to apologise ahead of Ghana clash

In 2010, Luis Suarez famously handled a certain Ghana goal away from the line in the quarter-final. Asomoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty and, having been sent off, Suarez celebrated by the tunnel, before Uruguay won the resulting penalty shootout to progress to the last four. 

On Friday the two countries meet again and it is likely to be a winner-takes-all scenario. Could we see more Suarez sh*thousery? Judging by his pre-match presser, he is in no mood to make up.

"The Ghana player missed the penalty, not me. I don't apologise for it," he said. "I apologise if I injure a player but I took a red card for the handball. It wasn't my fault because I didn't miss the penalty."

Declan Rice wants England to be feared

England’s players were back at work after their day off ahead of Sunday’s class with Senegal, and midfielder Declan Rice spoke to the press. He said he wants his nation to be feared in the tournament. 

“Other nations will look at our quality - and why should we not be feared?" he said. "If you look at our attacking talent, we have world-class talent. Across the board we have players who have won the biggest trophies.

"It is up to us to prove that. The likes of France have done that. We're not just here to get into the last 16, we want to go the whole way."

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