Matches in Group E of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 23 November to 1 December 2022. The group consisted of Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, and Japan. The top two teams, Japan and Spain, advanced to the round of 16. Japan became the third ever Asian team to win a World Cup group. Germany was eliminated in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament.
Teams Draw position Team Pot Confederation Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings March 2022 October 2022 E1 1 UEFA UEFA Group B winners 14 November 2021 16th 2018 Winners (2010) 7 7 E2 4 CONCACAF CONCACAF v OFC play-off winners 14 June 2022 6th 2018 Quarter-finals (2014) 31 31 E3 2 UEFA UEFA Group J winners 11 October 2021 20th 2018 Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) 12 11 E4 3 AFC AFC third round Group B runners-up 24 March 2022 7th 2018 Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018) 23 24 Notes
Standings
In the round of 16: The winners of Group E, Japan, advanced to play the runners-up of Group F, Croatia. The runners-up of Group E, Spain, advanced to play the winners of Group F, Morocco.
Matches All times listed are local, AST (UTC+3).
Germany vs Japan The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2006 friendly, a 2–2 draw.
Japan's Daizen 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 goalkeeper Shūichi Gonda fouled David 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. Germany would have the ball in the net again just before half-time through Kai Havertz, but the goal was then once again disallowed for offside.
In the 75th minute, Japan equalized through Ritsu Dōan, after he finished a rebound into the net following goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's save from a low shot from the left. Japan went in front eight minutes later, when Takuma Asano received the ball down the right wing before pulling away from defender Nico Schlotterbeck towards the penalty area and shooting high above Neuer into the net past the near post.
The result marked the second consecutive occasion that Germany lost their opening World Cup match, after a 1–0 defeat to Mexico in 2018. Following his substitution on in the 79th minute, the contest also saw the return of Mario Götze in a World Cup match, his first since scoring the decisive goal in extra time of the 2014 final against Argentina.
GK 1 Manuel Neuer (c)RB 15Niklas SüleCB 2 Antonio RüdigerCB 23Nico SchlotterbeckLB 3 David RaumCM 6 Joshua KimmichCM 21İlkay Gündoğan RW 10Serge Gnabry AM 13Thomas Müller LW 14Jamal Musiala CF 7 Kai Havertz Substitutions:MF 18Jonas Hofmann MF 8 Leon Goretzka MF 11Mario Götze FW 9 Niclas Füllkrug FW 26Youssoufa Moukoko Manager:Hansi Flick GK 12Shūichi GondaRB 19Hiroki Sakai CB 4 Kō ItakuraCB 22Maya Yoshida (c)LB 5 Yūto Nagatomo CM 6 Wataru EndoCM 17Ao Tanaka RW 14Junya ItōAM 15Daichi KamadaLW 11Takefusa Kubo CF 25Daizen Maeda Substitutions:DF 16Takehiro Tomiyasu MF 9 Kaoru Mitoma FW 18Takuma Asano MF 8 Ritsu Dōan MF 10Takumi Minamino Manager:Hajime Moriyasu
Man of the Match: Shūichi Gonda (Japan)
Assistant referees: David Morán (El Salvador) Zachari Zeegelaar (Suriname) Fourth official: Saíd Martínez (Honduras) Reserve assistant referee: Helpys Raymundo Feliz (Dominican Republic) Video assistant referee: Mauro Vigliano (Argentina) Assistant video assistant referees: Armando Villarreal (United States) Kathryn Nesbitt (United States) Fernando Guerrero (Mexico) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Mahmoud Abouelregal (Egypt)
Spain vs Costa Rica 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.
Spain dominated possession, and were up 3–0 at half-time thanks to goals scored in a span of 20 minutes by Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio and Ferran Torres from the penalty spot. Torres would get his second goal of the match nine minutes into the second half, before teenager Gavi scored Spain's fifth goal via an outside-of-the-foot volley in the 74th minute. Late strikes from substitutes Carlos Soler and Álvaro Morata saw the match conclude in a 7–0 Spanish win, the biggest margin of victory in a World Cup game since Portugal beat North Korea by the same 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.
Costa Rica equalled their worst ever defeat, a 7–0 loss to Mexico in 1975, while this was Spain's biggest win at a World Cup, surpassing their 6–1 success against Bulgaria in 1998. 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 since Pelé for Brazil in 1958.
GK 23Unai SimónRB 2 César AzpilicuetaCB 16RodriCB 24Aymeric LaporteLB 18Jordi Alba DM 5 Sergio Busquets (c) CM 9 GaviCM 26Pedri RF 11Ferran Torres CF 10Marco Asensio LF 21Dani OlmoSubstitutions:FW 7 Álvaro Morata MF 19Carlos Soler DF 14Alejandro Balde MF 8 Koke FW 12Nico Williams Manager:Luis Enrique GK 1 Keylor Navas (c)RB 16Carlos Martínez CB 6 Óscar DuarteCB 15Francisco Calvo LB 8 Bryan Oviedo RM 4 Keysher FullerCM 5 Celso Borges CM 17Yeltsin TejedaLM 9 Jewison Bennette CF 12Joel Campbell CF 7 Anthony Contreras Substitutions:DF 19Kendall Waston MF 26Álvaro Zamora MF 10Bryan Ruiz MF 20Brandon Aguilera DF 22Rónald Matarrita Manager: Luis Fernando Suárez
Man of the Match: Gavi (Spain)
Assistant referees: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates) Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Ma Ning (China) Reserve assistant referee: Shi Xiang (China) Video assistant referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore) Bruno Pires (Brazil) Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar)
Japan vs Costa Rica The teams had previously met four times, all in friendly matches, with Japan winning three and drawing one; their most recent encounter was a 3–0 home victory for the Japanese in 2018.
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. Keysher Fuller scored with a shot from the right which was deflected and misjudged by Japan goalkeeper Shūichi Gonda, and this would end up being the only goal of the game.
GK 12Shūichi GondaRB 2 Miki Yamane CB 4 Kō Itakura CB 22Maya Yoshida (c)LB 5 Yūto Nagatomo CM 6 Wataru Endo CM 13Hidemasa MoritaRW 8 Ritsu Dōan AM 15Daichi KamadaLW 24Yūki Sōma CF 21Ayase Ueda Substitutions:DF 26Hiroki Itō FW 18Takuma Asano MF 9 Kaoru Mitoma MF 14Junya Itō MF 10Takumi Minamino Manager:Hajime Moriyasu GK 1 Keylor Navas (c)CB 6 Óscar DuarteCB 19Kendall WastonCB 15Francisco Calvo RWB4 Keysher FullerLWB8 Bryan OviedoRM 13Gerson Torres CM 5 Celso Borges CM 17Yeltsin TejedaLM 12Joel Campbell CF 7 Anthony Contreras Substitutions:MF 20Brandon Aguilera MF 9 Jewison Bennette MF 14Youstin Salas MF 2 Daniel Chacón Manager: Luis Fernando Suárez
Man of the Match: Keysher Fuller (Costa Rica)
Assistant referees: Stuart Burt (England) Simon Bennett (England) Fourth official: Maguette Ndiaye (Senegal) Reserve assistant referee: El Hadj Malick Samba (Senegal) Video assistant referee: Jérôme Brisard (France) Assistant video assistant referees: Benoît Millot (France) Cyril Gringore (France) Adil Zourak (Morocco) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Nicolas Danos (France)
Spain vs Germany The teams had previously met in 26 previous matches including four times in the World Cup: Germany recorded a 2–1 group stage victory in 1966 and a 2–1 second group stage win in 1982, the sides had a 1–1 group stage draw in 1994, and Spain earned a 1–0 semi-final win in 2010. Their most recent meeting was in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, with Spain winning 6–0.
In the first half, Spain's Dani Olmo had a shot that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer turned onto the bar. In the 62nd minute, substitute Álvaro Morata put Spain into the lead when he flicked Jordi Alba's cross from the left into the net at the near post. 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 goalkeeper Unai 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.
GK 23Unai SimónRB 20Dani CarvajalCB 16RodriCB 24Aymeric LaporteLB 18Jordi Alba DM 5 Sergio Busquets (c) CM 9 Gavi CM 26PedriRF 11Ferran Torres CF 10Marco Asensio LF 21Dani OlmoSubstitutions:FW 7 Álvaro Morata MF 8 Koke FW 12Nico Williams DF 14Alejandro Balde Manager:Luis Enrique GK 1 Manuel Neuer (c)RB 5 Thilo Kehrer CB 15Niklas SüleCB 2 Antonio RüdigerLB 3 David Raum CM 6 Joshua Kimmich CM 8 Leon Goretzka RW 10Serge Gnabry AM 21İlkay Gündoğan LW 14Jamal MusialaCF 13Thomas Müller Substitutions:FW 9 Niclas Füllkrug DF 16Lukas Klostermann MF 19Leroy Sané MF 18Jonas Hofmann DF 23Nico Schlotterbeck Manager:Hansi Flick
Man of the Match: Álvaro Morata (Spain)
Assistant referees: Hessel Steegstra (Netherlands) Jan de Vries (Netherlands) Fourth official: István Kovács (Romania) Reserve assistant referee: Vasile Marinescu (Romania) Video assistant referee: Pol van Boekel (Netherlands) Assistant video assistant referees: Massimiliano Irrati (Italy) Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Paolo Valeri (Italy) Stand-by assistant video assistant referee: Ovidiu Artene (Romania)
Japan vs Spain The teams previously faced each other once in 2001, a friendly won 1–0 by Spain.
After Álvaro Morata scored with a header from five yards out after a cross from César 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 goalkeeper Unai 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 by Kaoru Mitoma on the left, with the ball within millimeters of the goalline. This proved to be the decisive goal, as Japan won 2–1 to top Group E ahead of Spain and Germany, the latter being eliminated.
Due to the tightness of the call, Japan's second goal sparked much discussion. The live television camera angle created an optical illusion as if the pass to Tanaka was out of bounds, and the video 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 the bird's eye photo taken by Petr David Josek, released by the Associated Press.
Japan's victory with only 18% of possession was the lowest for a winning side at a World Cup match since records began in 1966.
GK 12Shūichi GondaCB 4 Kō Itakura CB 22Maya Yoshida (c) CB 3 Shōgo Taniguchi RM 14Junya ItōCM 13Hidemasa MoritaCM 17Ao Tanaka LM 5 Yūto Nagatomo RF 15Daichi Kamada CF 25Daizen Maeda LF 11Takefusa Kubo Substitutions:MF 8 Ritsu Dōan MF 9 Kaoru Mitoma FW 18Takuma Asano DF 16Takehiro Tomiyasu MF 6 Wataru Endo Manager:Hajime Moriyasu GK 23Unai SimónRB 2 César Azpilicueta CB 16RodriCB 4 Pau TorresLB 14Alejandro Balde DM 5 Sergio Busquets (c)CM 9 Gavi CM 26PedriRF 12Nico Williams CF 7 Álvaro Morata LF 21Dani OlmoSubstitutions:DF 20Dani Carvajal FW 11Ferran Torres FW 10Marco Asensio FW 25Ansu Fati DF 18Jordi Alba Manager:Luis Enrique
Man of the Match: Ao Tanaka (Japan)
Assistant referees: Zakhele Siwela (South Africa) Souru Phatsoane (Lesotho) Fourth official: Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) Reserve assistant referee: El Hadj Malick Samba (Senegal)