The Germans “pretended” to be speechless before the kick-off of their World Cup opener against Japan, but the Samurai made sure the Germans were genuinely lost for words after the final whistle! Even though Germany led at half time thanks to an Ilkay Gundogan penalty, the Asian team rallied to score twice after the break and claim a priceless 2-1 win at the Khalifa International Stadium. What a drama!Ilkay Gundogan has scored his first ever World Cup goal. It is his 17th goal for Germany. Cool from the spot. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/PpwMITYXIk— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 23, 2022 Daizen Maeda slid the ball in the net inside the opening ten minutes – but it was rightfully ruled out for offside. It was one of a few rapid counter-attacks by Japan, and it looked the most dangerous one. However, Junya Ito’s cross found the Celtic forward offside. This game showed early on that Japanese counter-attacks could give them the edge.They made a political statement because they weren’t allowed to make political statements – and deny political statementsOn the other end of the pitch, the Germans started to squeeze the ring around the guys in the blue shirts.Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda helped the opponents with a clumsy attempt to dispossess David Raum. The left-back dropped to the ground and the Salvadorian referee Ivan Barton had no choice but to point to the spot. Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan had no problems turning the spot kick into a deserved lead on 33 minutes.Kai Havertz thought he’d doubled the lead just before the break, but he was offside when he side-footed Gnabry’s wicked miskicked cross into the unguarded net.Serge Gnabry fired a wicked shot from the right side of the box, but the ball just grazed the top of the crossbar on its way to the stands. It was a great opportunity to wrap up the win mere seconds after the restart, but the European team still looked in control – and it seemed just a matter of time before they put the match beyond doubt.74′ Germany 1-0 Japan83′ Germany 1-2 Japan🚨 JAPAN WITH THE COMEBACK 🚨 pic.twitter.com/RDJthRTMB8— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 23, 2022 Germany coach Hansi Flick subbed off Gundogan and veteran Thomas Muller in favour of Leon Goretzka and Jonas Hofmann. At the same time, the Japanese tactician Hajime Moriyasu sent on Takuma Asano for Daizen Maeda in an attempt to give his team a bit more attacking potency. All those changes resulted in an even more open game, with chances starting to come on both sides.GOAL! Germany 1-1 Japan (Doan) 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/gQOZno6qZ3— World Cup Updates (@wc22updates) November 23, 2022 Gonda managed to pull off four saves in less than a minute, keeping out Hofmann and Gnabry as the Japanese hang on to their hats. Musiala was particularly in the mood today, making Japanese defenders’ lives a living hell. Still, somehow the 19-year-old remained goalless.##NAJAVA_MECA_6833995##And then – the punishment came! Minutes after Manuel Neuer has pulled off a magnificent stop to deny Hiroki Sakai. He was beaten. Substitute Takumi Minamino shot from a narrow angle, Neuer dropped down and somehow palmed it away. Still, Ritsu Doan was on hand to stab the ball in and spark massive celebrations from thousands of Japanese fanatics inside the Khalifa International Stadium.The sense of shock was tangible, but it was only the beginning. Flick sent on attackers Mario Gotze and Niclas Fullkrug in an attempt to restore the lead. The goal did come – but not on the end the Germans wanted!GOAL! Germany 1-2 Japan (Asano) 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/RVXcukDvRl— World Cup Updates (@wc22updates) November 23, 2022 With just over five minutes of the regular 90 remaining, Asano, who played in Germany for Bochum, controlled the ball on the right wing before darting in towards Neuer’s net with Nico Schlotterbeck trying to push him away. But the former Arsenal and Partizan forward kept his cool and threaded a fantastic finish between Neuer and the near post to announce another shock in the World Cup, similar to the one the day before, in which Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina.WORLD CUPGroup stageWednesday, Nov 23rdMorocco – Croatia 0-0Germany – Japan 1-2 (1-0)/Gundogan 33 pen – Doan 75, Asano 83/19:00: (1.15) Spain (7.50) Costa Rica (20.0) E22:00: (1.42) Belgium (4.50) Canada (8.00) F
