Japan stunned four times World Champion Germany 2-1 in Group E opener at Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday. They made a stunning comeback after was down 0-1 in first half.
Ilkay Gundogan in 33′ gave German side the lead through penalty. However, Japan came back strongly in second half and scored two goals in a span of eight minutes to upset four times world champion. For Japan, Ritsu Duan (75′) and Takuma Asano (83′) scored the goals.
This is Germany’s third defeat in four World Cup games and the second consecutive defeat against Asian team after their loss to South Korea in the 2018 World Cup.
Germany Starting XI: Neur, Sule, Schlotterback, Rudiger, Raum, Kimmich, Gundogan, Gnabry, Musiala, Havertz, Muller
Japan Starting XI: Gonda, Sakai, Itakura, Yoshida, Nagatomo, Endo, Ito; Kamada, Tanaka, Kubo; Maeda.
Picture Courtesy: FIFA Media
