Costa Rica vs Germany LIVE: World Cup 2022 result and reaction – Germany win but go out tonight

Thomas Muller has described Germany’s World Cup exit as ‘an absolute catastrophe’ whilst doing his post match media duties.

“It is unbelievably bitter for us because our result would have been enough,” Muller added. “It’s a feeling of powerlessness.”

This is becoming a habit. The great achievers have become the great underachievers, the Turniermannschaft, the ultimate tournament team, the side who leave tournaments early, ignominiously, embarrassingly. Germany have stopped being Germany and the footballing world has lost one of its constants. Few victories have brought less pleasure to the four-time World Cup winners. This was not bittersweet because, despite Jamal Musiala’s brilliance, Kai Havertz’s brace and the latest example of Niclas Fullkrug’s power as an impact substitute, there was nothing sweet about it for Germany. Not when they are accustomed to so much more.

Their fate was in effect sealed before Stephanie Frappart, the first woman to referee a game at the men’s World Cup, blew the final whistle. It was clinched by two Japanese comebacks, the two goals in eight minutes they scored against Germany and the two in three they got against Spain. It left Germany needing five goals in the last five minutes of added time against Costa Rica.

And even on a credibility-defying night of sometimes illogical drama at the Al Bayt, that wasn’t quite possible. Instead a thrashing proved decisive: The third result that ultimately eliminated Germany was Spain’s 7-0 win over Costa Rica. As they finished level on points with Luis Enrique’s side, it meant they needed a similarly sizeable scoreline. And while they had the chances, their frailty was part of the problem. They conceded twice in 12 minutes. Somehow, they trailed in a game they dominated. The team who used to bring order to proceedings now experienced chaos.

Germany have failed to get past the group stage at each of the last two World Cups, after they had made it past the first round in each of the previous 16 tournaments since 1954.

The ultimate lost cause, a win of historic proportions. A game of literal inches, a night of monumental drama. One former World Cup winner is out. Another no longer look like potential champions. Japan, against that, have emerged as one of the stories and revelations of this tournament.

Kaoru Mitoma’s heroic chasing of a ball that seemed certain to go out of play saw Ao Tanaka score a goal for the ages on another night that will reverberate through football history. It didn’t just mean Japan did to Spain what they did to Germany with another 2-1 comeback. It meant they finished ahead of both in the group to subject Germany to the humiliation of elimination and Spain to the embarrassment of finishing second after having almost everything their own way.

They now look flawed and vulnerable rather than imperious and victorious, as well as pathetically dependent on a German favour.

Germany are out of the World Cup.

The 2022 World Cup is in full swing as 32 nations began on 20 November aiming to lift the Jules Rimet trophy in Doha on 18 December.

The tournament is the first Fifa men’s World Cup to play out in the northern hemisphere’s winter, after it was moved from its original summer scheduling to combat Qatar’s intense heat.

Brazil came into tournament as the slight favourites to win the World Cup ahead of their South American rivals Argentina. The most fancied European nations at the start of the competition were England, Spain, France and Germany, with Belgium and Netherlands also considered dark horses. As the African champions, Senegal were considered Africa’s best hope of delivering a first World Cup for the continent.

The tournament has not been without controversy, from the mid-season scheduling which has seen a raft of injuries in the lead-up to kick-off, to the broader picture of Qatar’s exploitation of migrant workers in order to build the stadiums and infrastructure required to host the four-week event. Fifa president Gianni Infantino only added fuel to the fire when he gave his extraordinary pre-tournament speech, and what has followed has been vigorous debate around showing support for LGBTQ+ rights in a conservative Islamic country where homosexuality is illegal.

Despite the off-field issues, the players on the pitch have still served up an entertaining tournament, with goals, shocks, twists and turns.

The 2022 World Cup is in full swing as 32 nations began on 20 November aiming to lift the Jules Rimet trophy in Doha on 18 December.

Despite the many off-field issues around the tournament in Qatar, the group stage has thrown up plenty of thrills and spills, with Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia going down as one of the greatest shocks of any World Cup in history. Japan also stunned Germany, while Spain and England racked up goals in statement opening wins.

The top two teams from each group go through to the round of 16, with group winners taking on the runners-up from a different group, while the third- and fourth-placed nations in each group are eliminated from the competition.

Here are the teams qualified for the last 16 so far:

Germany had 32 efforts on goal against Costa Rica, the highest total by any team in a single match at the 2022 World Cup. They scored four of them whilst hitting the woodwork three times.

Spain knocked in seven goals in 17 attempts against the South American side which is what has sent them into the knockout stages.

Germany have been knocked out of the World Cup in Qatar after finishing third in Group E despite a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica.

Hansi Flick’s side came from behind against Los Ticos to win at the Al Bayt Stadium, but Japan’s shock win over Spain sent them tumbling out before the knockout phase for a second consecutive World Cup.

Japan topped the group on six points, with Spain edging out the four-time world champions on goal difference thanks to their opening 7-0 win over Costa Rica.

Germany’s campaign in Qatar started off with a stunning loss to Japan, despite dominating the contest, as goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano handed Flick’s side a defeat.

Japan are only the third team in World Cup history to win two different games at a single edition in which they were losing at half-time, after Brazil in 1938 and Germany in 1970.

Their 2-1 victory over Spain has knocked Germany out of the World Cup. They’ll now face Croatia in the last-16.