LIVE: Spain, Japan Meet With Sights Set on World Cup Knockouts
La Furia Roja meet the Samurai Blue with lots on the line in a tight Group F where every team is still in the running for the knockout rounds. Follow along here.
Spain put forth one of the most dominating performances ever at a World Cup in its opener, but a subsequent draw means there’s still work to be done to punch its ticket to the knockout stage.
La Furia Roja need a win or draw against Japan to ensure their place in the round of 16. Japan had impressed mightily in a come-from-behind win over Germany to open play in Qatar, but a loss to Costa Rica—the same side Spain beat 7–0—means that the Samurai Blue have a more difficult path to the knockout stage.
Japan needs to win to guarantee its spot in the knockout stage, while a draw sets up a potentially chaotic scenario that would depend on the outcome of the Germany vs. Costa Rica match. A draw and a Germany win means the second spot would come down to goal differential between Germany and Japan, while a draw and Costa Rica win would eliminate Japan.
Follow along here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
Here are the lineups for both sides:
Full World Cup squads
Spain
GOALKEEPERS: David Raya (Brentford), Robert Sánchez (Brighton), Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao),
DEFENDERS: Jordi Alba (Barcelona), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Alejandro Balde (Barcelona), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Eric García (Barcelona) Hugo Guillamón (Valencia), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Pau Torres (Villarreal)
MIDFIELDERS: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona), Koke (Atlético Madrid), Marcos Llorente (Atlético Madrid), Pedri (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Carlos Soler (Paris Saint-Germain)
FORWARDS: Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Álvaro Morata (Atlético Madrid), Dani Olmo (Leipzig), Yeremy Pino (Villarreal), Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germain), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)
Japan
GOALKEEPERS: Shūichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg), Daniel Schmidt (Sint-Truiden)
DEFENDERS: Ko Itakura (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Red Diamonds), Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale), Maya Yoshida (Schalke)
MIDFIELDERS: Ritsu Dōan (Freiburg), Wataru Endo (Stuttgart), Junya Ito (Reims), Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Takumi Minamino (Monaco), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Hidemasa Morita (Sporting CP), Gaku Shibasaki (Leganés), Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus)
FORWARDS: Takuma Asano (Bochum), Shuto Machino (Shonan Bellmare), Daizen Maeda (Celtic), Ayase Ueda (Cercle Brugge)