The Japanese national team achieved a historic victory by defeating Spain 2-1 in the final match of the group stage at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Japan topped Group E with 6 points, while Spain remained at 4 points in second place, allowing both teams to advance to the Round of 16. Spain only needed a draw to advance, but the German team, with just one point, had to defeat Costa Rica, which they did 4-2, and Spain needed to defeat Japan to secure their advancement.
Since their match in the second round, which ended in a 1-1 draw between Germany and Spain, the German players requested their Spanish counterparts to help them by winning against Japan to keep their World Cup campaign alive. This sparked discussions before the final round about a supposed Spanish conspiracy to intentionally lose against Japan to eliminate Germany from the tournament and avoid facing Croatia, followed by Brazil in the quarter-finals, and then Argentina in the semi-finals, according to most predictions.
By finishing second, Spain would face Morocco in the Round of 16, a path that could potentially lead to Portugal in the quarter-finals, and either England or France in the semi-finals. However, Luis Enrique, the coach of the Spanish team, confirmed in a press conference before the match that his team did not plan to settle for second place to avoid any specific opponent, emphasizing that the most important goal was to win against Japan. He stated that everyone would be ready for the match and that they would not intentionally lose or draw, which is not part of the philosophy of the Spanish national team that does not fear facing anyone.
Contrary to this, despite Spain's dominance, they displayed a lack of offensive drive, and Enrique made five changes to the lineup that faced Germany, as if their qualification was already secured. While the achievement of Japan and their right to victory cannot be undermined, the question remains: Did the Spanish team relinquish the top spot to avoid facing Brazil and Argentina, the frontrunners for the Qatar 2022 World Cup title?
