To begin with, a team-by-team presentation is essential in this group E.
When Germany approaches an international competition, they are usually given the status of favorites in their group. This time, however, Spain seems slightly superior to us in this Pool E. After their disappointments in 2014 (elimination in the first round as defending champions) and 2018 (exit by Russia on penalties in the round of 16), La Roja is indeed coming out of a Euro which marked its return to the fore.
Despite a delay in the ignition in the group phase with two draws, the band of Luis Enrique gained momentum: they eliminated Croatia in the round of 16 (5-3 aet) then Switzerland in the quarterfinals (1-1 , 3-1 tabs). Finally, Spain was ejected by Italy in the semi-finals on penalties (1-1, 2-4 on pens) and without having lost a single match. Since then, the winners of the 2010 edition have rarely disappointed and they finished top of their Nations League group ahead of Portugal to qualify for the Final Four.
On paper, this generation is not the most impressive that Spain has known and the youngsters Pedri and Gavi are just starting to make their mark, but this Roja proves to be reliable, with nevertheless some faults, including her possession of the ball. sometimes sterile and the lack of efficiency of Alvaro Morata, center forward holder a little by default.
Arriving at the end of the cycle with Joachim Löw, as evidenced by the elimination in the group stage of the 2018 edition then in the round of 16 of the Euro against England (0-2), the Mannschaft has forged ahead over the past year under Hansi Flick. Since the arrival of the technician, the Germans have indeed conceded only one defeat (1-0 at home against Hungary in September).
The balance sheet remains mixed despite everything since Italy and Hungary have for example preceded it in its group in the League of Nations and it took a blunder from the English goalkeeper Pope (3-3) to prevent the Teutons from completing September on two defeats. On the verge of recalling Mats Hummels in defense and hesitating between Timo Werner and Kai Havertz as center-forward, Germany seems to still have a bit of work to do before returning to the top.
Having managed to extricate themselves from the group stage half the time since they discovered the World Cup in 1998, Japan are aware that the task which awaits them promises to be highly complex this year because of the presence of two big names in his hen. Already in 2018, the Samouraïs Blues had relied on the fair play ranking to get ahead of Senegal and accompany Colombia in the round of 16 after leaving a less tough group which also included Poland. But the Japanese then gave Belgium a hard time in the 8th round by leading 2-0 before being knocked down in the 94th! minute (3-2)
Since then, the Japanese have reached the final of the Asian Cup in 2019 (defeat against Qatar) then they qualified for the World Cup quite easily by finishing 2ndin their qualifying group, just one point behind Arabia. Arabia, but 7 lengths ahead of Australia, 3rdand play-off. Recently, Monegasque Takumi Minamino's teammates had an encouraging campaign of friendly matches with wins against Paraguay (4-1) and the United States (2-0), a draw against Ecuador (0-0) and a narrow defeat against Brazil (0-1).
The Ticos were the 32ndand last nation to qualify for Qatar, on June 14, by defeating New Zealand (1-0) in the intercontinental play-off. Before that, the teammates of the Parisian Keylor Navas had finished 4th in qualifying in the CONCACAF zone, ahead of Canada, Mexico and especially the United States, on goal difference. Like their success against the Americans (2-0) on the last day, the Costa Ricans have proven that they must be taken seriously.
After their surprising journey to the quarter-finals in 2014 (elimination on penalties against the Netherlands), Luis Fernando Suárez's men disappointed in the last edition, however, finishing last in their group behind Brazil, the Switzerland and Serbia and with a small point on the clock snatched in the additional time of the last day against the Helvetians (2-2). The difficulty for this selection also remains the low number of matches played against teams from other continents with the recent friendlies against South Korea (2-2) and Uzbekistan (2-1) which are rare exceptions.
World Cup 2024 – Their history at the World Cup:
Wednesday November 23
2 p.m., Germany – Japan, at Khalifa International Stadium
5 p.m., Spain – Costa Rica, at Al Thumama Stadium
Sunday November 27,
11 a.m. Japan v Costa Rica at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
8 p.m. Spain v Germany at Al Bayt Stadium
Thursday 1 December
8 p.m. Costa Rica v Germany at Al Bayt Stadium
Japan v Spain at Khalifa International Stadium
Author of a prolific start to the season with Bayern Munich, the 26-year-old winger is one of the players who carry German hopes. Confined to a role of luxury joker during the last Euro, the former Citizen has since managed to establish himself as a holder under the orders of Flick, who had already directed him in Bavaria, and he notably scored 4 goals during the Last 6 days of qualifying, against however modest opponents (Iceland and Liechtenstein). It remains to reiterate this kind of performance against the most highly rated nations.
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