Germany have kept their World Cup dreams alive after finding a late equalizer against Spain – but their destiny is out of their hands.
Niclas Füllkrug's goal equalized Alvaro Morata's opening goal as a thrilling match at the Al Bayt stadium in Qatar ended 1-1.
Early in the game, Spain had the upper hand. Manuel Neuer narrowly saved a powerful strike from Dani Olmo by the crossbar.
However, Germany came back into the match, and Antonio Rudiger appeared to give them the lead when he headed in a free kick. However, VAR disallowed the goal for a blatant offside, so Germany lost the game.
Just minutes after coming off the bench, Morata, a former Chelsea striker, scored the game's first goal just over the hour mark by converting Jordi Alba's low cross.
From that point on, Germany significantly improved but struggled to create many chances. Jamal Musiala wasted a tremendous opportunity to equalize when he found himself one-on-one with Unai Simon but was only able to direct his shot straight at the Spanish goalkeeper.
But in the end, their pressure was rewarded when substitute Niclas Füllkrug lashed in a shot following some nice play from Musiala.
While a point has helped their cause, the result still leaves Germany in a very difficult position, and had Japan not lost to Costa Rica earlier on Sunday, they would almost certainly have been knocked out at the group stage for the second time in the history of the World Cup.
As it stands, Germany are bottom of Group E and in need of a victory against Costa Rica and a Spain win over Japan to keep their Qatar 2022 campaign going.
If Spain draws with Japan, Germany can still qualify provided their goal difference is higher than the Asian side’s.
Spain, meanwhile, will be ruining the chance to all but guarantee qualification to the round-of-16, especially after looking so imposing in their 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica in their opening game.
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