Day 8 -- Germany Spain Nail Biting Draw

DAY 8 Sunday

Costa Rica, Morocco and Croatia all won on the field. Germany Vs Spain ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Off it, U.S. Soccer drew Iran’s anger over posts on social media. 

Iran calls for the U.S. to be expelled from the World Cup.

Riots break out in Brussels after Belgium’s surprising loss to Morocco.

Canada scored its first World Cup goal, but Croatia responded with four.

Morocco’s unlikely strike stuns a sluggish Belgium.

Costa Rica’s first shot on goal is a good one. And costly for Japan.

Costa Rica made the most of its first shot on goal in this World Cup, scoring on it to beat Japan, 1-0. The victory revives its slim chances of advancing to the next round, puts Japan in the very difficult spot of needing to beat Spain to continue and offers Germany a lifeline.

Japan had controlled the game until the 81st minute, when it gave the ball away to Keysher Fuller, who fired a shot past the fingers of Shuichi Gonda and into the upper right corner of the net.

The result stunned Japan and ended the momentum it was riding after its upset of Germany last week. Japan will need to beat Spain, one of the tournament’s favorites, later this week to advance. The Costa Ricans also did the Germans a huge favor. It cannot be eliminated with a tie or even a loss against Spain and can even win the group with victories in its next two games.

Riots erupted in the heart of Brussels and several other Belgian cities on Sunday after Belgium was upset by Morocco, 2-0, at the World Cup.

Abdelhamid Sabiri’s inspired free kick from a narrow angle, when most other players would have opted for a cross instead of a shot, gave Morocco the surprise lead, and Zakaria Aboukhlal’s chip from a cutback pass sealed the 2-0 victory over Belgium in stoppage time.

Despite playing against the runner-up from the last World Cup, Canada attacked early and often against Croatia. It led to a second-minute score from Alphonso Davies — Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal. But Canada’s fast start quickly faded as it was overmatched in midfield. Croatia scored two goals before halftime to take the lead and two more in the second half to finish off Canada, 4-1. Canada is eliminated from the World Cup with the loss. Croatia sits atop Group F with four points.

Niclas Füllkrug preserved Germany’s World Cup with a strike in the 83rd minute that led to a *1-1 draw against Spain on Sunday. The Germans still need to win their last group match — against Costa Rica, who upset Japan on Wednesday — to have a chance of advancing to the knockout stage.

In a tense, back-and-forth matchup of World Cup heavyweights, Spain struck first on Germany when Álvaro Morata picked up a Jordi Alba Jordi cross to the near post and slammed it past Germany’s goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer. But Füllkrug, who came on as a substitute in the second half, rewarded Hansi Flick’s decision with the decisive goal.

That was all in four games on day 8 of FIFA WC 2022 worth commenting on.