Germany kept their tournament hopes alive after scoring a late equaliser against Spain in a 1-1 draw in their FIFA World Cup Group E match at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday night.
It was an action-packed first half between the two European giants, with Germany fighting for survival after their 2-1 loss against Japan, against a Spanish team confident after their 7-0 victory against Costa Rica.
Dani Olmo went close in the opening ten minutes for Spain, but Manuel Neuer was able to parry his attempt against the woodwork.
Antonio Rudiger looked to have broken the deadlock for Germany in the 39th minute, but his goal was ruled out after VAR confirmed he was off-side when he headed in.
At the break, it remained goalless, but Spain grabbed the lead in the 62nd minute after substitute Alvaro Morata did well to get to the end of Jordi Alba’s cross and flicked past Neuer to make it 1-0.
The second half opened up as the Germans desperately looked for a way back into the game, and finally, they found an equaliser in the 83rd minute when substitute Niclas Fullkrug smashed in past Unai Simon to level matters.
While Germany remains bottom of the group, they now have a point, two points behind their final group opponents Costa Rica, and Japan, who are both on three points. Spain are top of the group with four points. The final group games will be played on Thursday.
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Earlier in the day, Costa Rica bounced back after their heavy defeat to Spain to beat Japan 1-0 in their FIFA World Cup Group E match at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams were level at the break after a slow opening 45 where neither team really threatened the goalkeepers. It was the Japanese, who shocked Germany in their first game, who controlled the possession and pace of the half.
The Japanese, knowing they could book a spot in the knockout round with a victory, upped the tempo in the second half, but continued to be thwarted by the Costa Rican defence.
With time running out Japan continued to pile on the pressure, but it was the Costa Ricans who would strike on the counter-attack in the 82nd minute.
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A turn-over in a dangerous area led to Keysher Fuller taking a shot from the edge of the area, and with their first shot on target in Qatar, it was 1-0 to the team who lost by seven to Spain in their opener.
The Japanese team pushed hard again to get back in the game, but it wasn’t to be, and the Costa Ricans held out for the win.
