The World Cup is underway and Group E began play on Wednesday, November 23. The first day features Japan vs. Germany and Costa Rica vs. Spain. And we got a stunner to get things started. Japan opened group play with a massive upset of Germany, winning 2-1 on a pair of second half goals.
Spain entered group play as the favorite to win the group with -115 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. Germany followed at +115 and then it was a sizable drop-off to Japan (+1000), and then even further to Costa Rica (+5000). Of the latter two, Japan has advanced to the knockout stage in three of its last six World Cup appearances while Costa Rica has advanced twice in five World Cup appearances.
Here are the standings and upcoming schedule for Group E at the 2022 World Cup.
Update — In a shocker, Japan end up advancing to the Round of 16 with a win over Spain while Germany is eliminated from the World Cup before the knockout round for the second straight tournament. Spain gets in on goal differential for the tiebreaker.
Group E standings
- Japan, 2-0-1, 4 GF, 3 GA, +1 GD, 6 points
- Spain, 1-1-1, 9 GF, 3 GA, +6 GD, 4 points
- Germany, 1-1-1, 6 GF, 5 GA, +1 GD, 4 point
- Costa Rica, 1-0-2, 3 GF, 11 GA, -8 GD, 3 points
Group E schedule (all times ET)
Wednesday, November 23
Japan 2, Germany 1
Spain, 7, Costa Rica 0
Sunday, November 27
Costa Rica 1, Japan 0 — Keysher Fuller scored in the 81st minute to give Costa Rica the stunning upset. Japan was in position to secure a knockout stage bid, but instead finds themselves eagerly rooting on Spain this afternoon.
Spain 1, Germany 1 — It looked like Alvaro Morata had given Spain the winner in the 62nd minute but Germany found an equalizer late with Niclas Fullkrug’s stellar strike. This was a huge result for Germany heading into the final set of matches. All four teams in this group are still alive for the knockout round.
Thursday, December 1
Japan 2, Spain 1
Germany 4, Costa Rica 2