Germany, a four-time world champion, and Belgium, ranked second in the world, face the risk of an early exit from the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while Morocco appears to have a good chance of reaching the Round of 16 for the second time in its history. In Group E, Germany's victory over Costa Rica will not be enough, as they currently have only one point and need assistance from Spain through a win or draw against Japan.
Spain leads the group with four points after a crushing victory over Costa Rica (7-0) and a draw with Germany (1-1), while Japan and Costa Rica have three points each, and Germany has only one. "Die Mannschaft," champions in 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014, specifically needs Spain's help, although they can match Spain's points if they win and Spain loses. However, the significant goal difference created by Spain's opening victory over Costa Rica logically suggests that Japan must falter for coach Hansi Flick's men to have a chance of advancing to the Round of 16.
As Germany faces what could be their last match in this current edition, paralleling the 2018 squad that exited early, they had previously met Costa Rica in the opening of the 2006 World Cup, winning 4-2. Germany relinquished the world title they won in 2014 with a disappointing early exit in Russia, marking their second early exit from the group stage in history. The champion of this group will face the runner-up of Group F, which includes Croatia, Morocco, and Belgium, while Canada has been eliminated from contention.
Four matchups have been confirmed for the Round of 16: the Netherlands will face the United States, Argentina will meet Australia on Saturday, and France will play Poland, while England will take on Senegal on Sunday.
In Group F, a strong battle is occurring among three teams for the two qualifying spots, with Croatia leading (4 points) facing Belgium in third place (3 points), and Morocco in second place (4 points) playing against last-place Canada (0 points). A draw is enough for Croatia, the runner-up of the last edition, to achieve a historic milestone and advance to the next round, while Belgium, third in the 2018 World Cup, faces a painful setback after a 0-2 loss to Morocco.
Morocco finds itself in a strong position to reach the Round of 16 for the second time in its history, the first being in 1986 when they narrowly lost to West Germany by one goal, boosted by their good performance against Belgium. They will face the weakest team in the group, Canada, following a heavy loss to Croatia (1-4). A draw is sufficient for the "Atlas Lions" to qualify; however, their coach Walid Regragui, who replaced the sacked Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodžić before the finals due to conflicts with players, urged his players to maintain a "winning mentality." "We haven’t done anything yet; we haven’t qualified (for the Round of 16) for which we came here."
