The Spanish national team achieved a historic victory in the World Cup, as it scored seven unanswered goals in its first match against Costa Rica in the Qatar World Cup.
With this great victory, the Spanish national team leads the standings of Group E, followed by the Japanese national team, which achieved a big surprise today by defeating Germany with two goals to one.
The Moroccan national team also got a valuable point in the tournament, after a goalless draw with its Croatian counterpart.
The Morocco-Croatia match was held at Al-Bayt Stadium as part of the first round of Group F competitions, which also includes Belgium and Canada.
The Moroccan national team is participating for the sixth time in the World Cup. This is the sixth tie for the “Atlas Lions” in their participation in the finals, in exchange for two wins and nine defeats.
With this tie, the Arab teams continue their good results in the World Cup in Qatar, where Saudi Arabia beat Argentina with two goals to one, while Tunisia tied with Denmark.
calm AndCautious in the match between Morocco and Croatia
The match between Morocco and Croatia started calmly and with caution from the two teams, especially the Moroccan national team, and the ball remained in the middle of the field for most of the match.
Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou blocked a dangerous attack in the 45th minute of the match, after a shot from Kramaric from inside the penalty area.
Croatia began the second half with strong pressure, hoping to score a goal, and Croatia’s most dangerous attack came in the 51st minute when Diane Lovren hit a ball from inside the penalty area, which Sofiane Mrabet removed from the goal line.
In the 72nd minute, the Moroccan defense almost scored an own goal, but the ball went over the crossbar.
The match ended in a goalless draw, making it the third match that did not witness any goals, after the matches between Tunisia and Denmark, Mexico and Poland.
The Atlas Lions will play Belgium in the second round of this group’s matches on Sunday, before facing Canada in the third round on Thursday.
Morocco has a strong record against European teams in the World Cup finals, as it tied with Bulgaria in the 1970 World Cup, tied with Poland and England and beat Portugal in the 1986 World Cup, tied with Norway and beat Scotland in the 1998 World Cup, and tied against Spain in the 2018 World Cup.
Real Madrid star Luka Modric became the first Croatian player to participate in the World Cup finals four times, and the most Croatian player to play matches in the World Cup with 13 matches.
Later, Spain achieved a big victory over Costa Rica in the match, which ended 7-0.
Coach Luis Enrique’s team shone at Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha, and dominated the course of the ball, taking advantage of opportunities without mercy.
Thus, he avoided the fate of the Argentine national team, and the fate of his opponent in the group, the German national team, which lost its first match against Japan today.
And Gavi established himself on the world football stage, with a stunning shot. His team produced a great passing performance, outperforming Costa Rica.
Fran Torres scored two goals in a match that seemed like a picnic for the Spanish team from start to finish.
Japan achieved a big surprise by defeating the German team, which has a long history in the World Cup
Also in Group E, the Japanese national team achieved a heavy-caliber surprise by defeating Germany with two goals to one, in the match that was held at Khalifa International Stadium.
The German team dominated most of the meeting, while Japan relied on quick counter-attacks.
Germany advanced with a penalty kick shot by Ilkay Gundogan in the 33rd minute, and the German national team players missed a number of easy opportunities.
In the 75th minute, Japan equalized with a goal signed by Ritsu Down, before adding the second goal in the 83rd minute through Takuma Asano.
With this surprising result, Germany’s task of advancing to the second round was complicated by the presence of Spain’s strong team, along with Costa Rica.
This is Germany’s 20th participation in the World Cup, after qualifying for all tournaments except for the 1930 and 1950 tournaments, while the Japanese national team is participating in the World Cup for the seventh time.
Germany’s players drew attention with a collective pause while taking memorial photos before the match, as all players put their hands on their mouths.
And the German Football Association issued a statement explaining the reason behind that image, saying: “We wanted our captain to wear a captain’s armband to support our principles that we believe in in the German national team: diversity and mutual respect. We wanted, along with other teams, that our voice be heard. It was not It’s about taking a political stance, human rights are not negotiable.”
The statement added: “Human rights should be guaranteed to all, but this is not the case now. That is why that message was important to us, and preventing us from wearing the armband was a muzzle for our voices. We adhere to our position.”
The captain of the German national team, Manuel Neuer, and the leaders of other European teams were seeking to wear the gay support badge, but the International Federation of Football Associations rejected this.
