In their final Group E matchup at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Thursday night (December 1), heavyweight Spain was defeated 2-1 by Japan. Alvaro Morata found the rear of the net for Spain while Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka scored for the Samurai Blue.
Japan was able to finish as group winners thanks to their second comeback victory in Group E—they had previously won 2-1 against Germany. Because of their higher goal difference, Spain finished second, beating out Germany, which has won the FIFA World Cup four times.
At the Khalifa International Stadium, La Roja got off to a good start, assuring possession dominance and playing through the defensive lines. It took the 2010 FIFA World Cup victors a simple 11 minutes to break the gridlock against Japan.
Morata headed past Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda after receiving a tasty pass from Cesar Azpilicueta.
Gavi skillfully played Morata through on goal down the right side in the 22nd minute. Gonda had everything covered, though the Atletico Madrid player did well to keep his shot off from a tight angle. After the 30th minute, Japan upped the ante but rarely got into the Spanish box.
In Thursday’s action-packed match at the Khalifa International Stadium, these three Spanish players struggled and two looked sharp:
Underperformed: Nico Williams
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Nico Williams, the brother of Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams, started his first international match. Japan expertly thwarted the jet-heeled forward’s attempts to use his speed to his advantage numerous times. Williams never seemed to make a difference as he hugged the right touchline for the majority of the night.
Williams missed all but one of his shots on Thursday, let alone one that hit the mark. He failed to complete two of his three attempted dribbles, lost possession five times, and lost three duels. He also misplaced both of his crosses.
Performed: Cesar Azpilicueta
Enrique put Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta back in the starting lineup for the game against Samurai Blue. Azpilicueta kept the right flank clean by utilizing his extensive experience to his advantage.
Additionally, he impressed with his distribution, sprinting forward whenever possible, and inch-perfectly assisting Morata’s header.
Azpilicueta completed 69 passes against Japan with 97.2% accuracy, played a crucial pass, threw three precise long balls, and created a big chance. He also won two of the three duels and tried to tackle before Daniel Carvajal took his place at halftime.
Underperformed: Sergio Busquets
During the crucial Group E match, the team captain, Sergio Busquets, did not perform at his best. He gave off a nervy appearance at times, dropped a few passes, and was generally less creative than usual. When the going got tough for his team in the second half, much more was expected of the veteran given his quality and experience.
Against Japan, Busquets missed seven passes. He also committed a foul, lost possession eight times, and lost a ground duel.
Performed: Alvaro Morata
Spain’s best forward was Alvaro Morata, who made his debut at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Thursday. He put pressure on the Japanese defenders and tried to play between the lines. In the 11th minute, he scored a thunderous header to give his team the lead.
His third goal of the tournament made him the joint top scorer with Kylian Mbappe, Cody Gakpo, and Enner Valencia, who was just eliminated from the tournament.
Morata finished 12 passes (75% precision), conveyed two exact long balls, and won three of four duels against Japan. He attempted a tackle after being fouled once.
Underperformed: Unai Simon
Only three shots from Japan were successful on Thursday night. Two of them slipped by Unai Simon. Simon made a hash of Doan’s shot from outside the box in the 48th minute. He could handle the shot’s height, but the force of it was too much for him to handle, and it ended up in the top-right corner of his net.
Simon attempted to collect Doan’s delivery from the right side three minutes later, but he failed and was caught in an unfavorable position. The ball in the end found its direction to Mitoma, who some way or another kept it in to help Tanaka’s objective.