Initially Germany with their well oiled combination, were all over the Costa Rican box & within 10 mins, Gnabry put them through heading in a fantastic pass from David Raum & it looked all set for a German goal fest. Costa Rican keeper, veteran Keylor Navas was a wall under the bar thwarting the swarming German attack one after the other, & suddenly it was half time, with German surprisingly up by a solitary goal. Meanwhile on the other side, German keeper Manuel Neuer denied Fuller from levelling the score on a one to one situation. Jamal Musiala was the standout German forward, involved in almost every attack, threading through a maze of Costa Rican defenders. At this stage, with Spain leading Japan by a goal in the other match, Germans were assured of a round 16 place. Costa Rican were stating at a big defeat & history was not on their side, with just one victory against any European side in their last 11 World Cup matches.
2nd half started also started in whirlwind fashion, as Germany kept bulldozing into the opponent half, but by now the Latin American one touch football was finding their rhythm, as the burly Waston raced into the German box & headed hard which was parried desperately by Neuer, & the onrushing Yetsin Tejeda blasted the ball in between two defenders to level the score. Match on, as suddenly the German bench as well as their vociferous supporters looked worried. In the other match, nearing the hour, Japan had scored two goals within minutes to lead Spain 2-1, which meant that Japan were leading the Group & Spain at 2nd position. Germans needing more goals, with their steely intent kept pushing forward in numbers, but in a goalmouth melee, Vargas poked the ball past Neuer to put Costa Rica ahead 2-1. Suddenly, the situation had changed to Germans & Spain, staring at an exit, as at this stage Costa Rica & Japan looked good to progress. Throwing in the dice, German Coach Hansi Flick brought in Havertz & Gotze to replace David Raum & Muller. This brought quick dividends, as Havertz dinked the ball over Navas for a good flick from Fullkrug to make it 2-2. Germans came close to scoring again as Navas made a couple of outstanding saves, denying Fullkrug & Musiala. The game was now on razor edge, as both sides were pressing for victory. Havertz made it 3-2 for Germany in the 83rd minute, smashing ball into the far corner of the net from a Gnabry cross. Fullkrug then got the ball in, but VAR ruled it offside. By now the Costa Ricans looked exhausted, as Germans kept pressing harder & reward came, as Fullkrug scored in the 89th minute, with was initially ruled out offside, but a lengthy VAR check confirmed the goal, as Germans were up 4-2 now. With 10 added minutes, the game continued at a frenetic pace, but the final score remained at 4-2 for Germany, which was not enough, & both sides were eliminated.
A huge upset, as Germans are knocked out along with Costa Rica, despite an entertaining encounter.
A trivia - French national, Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup match in this game, & she did so commendably, along with lines official Neuza Back(Brazil) & Karen Diaz(Mexico) on either flanks. First time in history, it was an all women team on the field to oversee the proceedings - Well done !!
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