🏆Match #43: Group E - Japan v Spain (1/12/22, 7pm)

[Up the Junction]

The tightest group of them all? A draw for Spain will be enough, but Japan will probably have to win.

[Shabu]

Come on Japan.

[WCpete]

Well, that was easy. 1-0 Morata

[WCpete]

Not sure sitting in your own final third is going to get the job done against Spain. This lot don't tend to turn the ball over much.

[IronRhino]

Spain is the Man City of international football. They are going to take some beating

[ironside58]

Spain is the Man City of international football. They are going to take some beating

I agree though they may lack a top goal scorer.

[WCpete]

Yes. In that they're masters of ball control, and can occasionally make me fall asleep from boredom.

[fmgod]

Spain are class but very boring, sort of side someone needs to get in front against us or be able to defend tightly and take their chances

[OohAahButler]

Add Morata to the list of blatant cheats (mainly Portuguese) who I’d like to see get their comeuppance- somehow - at this World Cup.

No chance of any retrospective action against clear fakery to get an opponent unfairly booked. Disgusts me. Would be sooooo easy to stamp it out.

[WCpete]

Get in! That's better. Terrible goalkeeping.

[Takeiteasy]

I don’t know what it is about Japan. They haven’t played well at all this tournament but they seem to know how to keep themselves in games. They work incredibly hard and have scored a few decent goals now. Probably part graft, part luck and part positivity/endeavour.

As an aside, they never seem to start with their best XI either!

[Burnley Hammer]

That really was very poor goalkeeping. Should have been a fairly routine save.

[Takeiteasy]

I’m not sure the whole ball was over the line? Seemed impossible to call with the naked eye.

[WCpete]

GTFOOH

Spain's keeper is having a mare in this half.

[Takeiteasy]

I’m not sure the whole ball was over the line? Seemed impossible to call with the naked eye.

There. I thought so.

Who disallowed it in the first place? Because neither the lino nor the ref would have been able to see that!

[Burnley Hammer]

What on earth is going on here? That ball was clearly over the line

[kenthammer]

Not a bad start to the 2nd half for Japan

[alf git]

[WCpete]

What on earth is going on here? That ball was clearly over the line

Announcer saying we haven't been shown all the angles. looked very out to me.

[dasnutnock3]

Just switched on and saw a goal replay where the ball was miles out of play. Was that Japan’s second???