Striker Niclas Füllkrug scored late to salvage a 1-1 draw for Germany in their 2022 World Cup Group E encounter against Spain at the Al-bayt stadium on sunday.
Álvaro Morata came off the bench early in the second half to put Spain ahead in the 62nd minute before super sub Füllkrug equalized for Germany in the 83rd.
The draw means Hansi Flick’s charges still need to win their last group match to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stage and to avoid a second straight world cup group stage elimination.
Germany will next face Costa Rica, who bounced back from their humiliating opening day defeat to beat Japan 1-0 earlier in the day.
Even a win in that final game against Costa Rica may not be enough for the four-time world champions to progress to the knock-out phase of the competition- they will need other result to go in their favour.
Meanwhile, Spain can reach the last 16 with a draw against Japan.
The match between the pre-tournament favorites was one of the most anticipated games in the group stage with many tagging it the “Final before the final”
Spain tried to control the pace of the game with ball possession but found goal-scoring opportunities hard to come by, while Germany were able to threaten sporadically with counter attacks and set pieces.
