In their World Cup match on Sunday, Germany rallied from behind to tie 1-1 with Spain, maintaining their chances of making the last 16 going into their final game in Group E.
Spain took the lead in the game through Alvaro Morata in the 62nd minute, but Germany tied the score through fellow substitute Niclas Fullkrug in the 83rd, and the two teams shared the victory in the high-profile match.
As a result, Spain is now in first place in Group E with four points ahead of their final encounter on Thursday against second-placed Japan, while Germany is in last place with one point ahead of their final match against Costa Rica.
To proceed to the final round of the competition, Hansi Flick’s team must defeat Costa Rica and pray that Spain defeats Japan. La Roja only needs a point to move on.
Dani Carvajal replaced Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back in the only change made by Spain manager Luis Enrique from the team that began the 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica.
While this was going on, Germany substituted Leon Goretzka for Kai Havertz, forcing Thomas Muller to move up to centre defence for the four-time world winners.
Germany 1-1 Spain: The Germans survive
In the seventh minute, Dani Olmo made a strong drive for goal for Spain, but Manuel Neuer was able to tip the ball over the crossbar and behind for a corner.
The offside flag was raised quickly after Germany’s Goretzka raced forward and fed Serge Gnabry in the 10th minute, giving La Roja goalkeeper Unai Simon time to make a stop.
In the 25th minute, Gnabry blasted a shot just past the Spain goal before Ferran Torres had a shot diverted into Neuer’s arms at the other end of the field.
In the 33rd minute, Torres attempted to score but strangely failed, despite the offside flag being raised, much to the relief of the Barcelona forward.
When Antonio Rudiger attempted to score from within the Spain box in the 40th minute, the offside flag disallowed the Real Madrid centre-back from scoring the game’s first goal.
In the 57th minute, Neuer denied Olmo at the other end after Simon had successfully stopped a shot from Joshua Kimmich. Both teams were threatening when they were able to penetrate forward areas.
In the 62nd minute, Spain took the lead when Morata, a replacement, met a low cross from Alba and flicked the ball past Neuer from within the area.
In the 65th minute, Marco Asensio had a chance to double La Roja’s advantage, but the Real Madrid forward hoisted the ball over the crossbar from outside the area.
In the 72nd minute, a chance for Germany was created by the excellent Jamal Musiala, but Fullkrug was unable to properly connect with the cross. Later, Simon made a fantastic save to stop Musiala from scoring within the Spain box.
In the following attack, Fullkrug missed the crossbar for Spain as Flick’s team attempted to draw even with the reigning world champions.
In the 83rd minute of the game, Fullkrug ultimately tied the score when he received a flick from Musiala and sent one into the far corner of the goal.
Leroy Sane nearly gave Germany the victory in the closing moments when he advanced wide before rounding Simon. However, the striker was unable to find a teammate in the centre, and Spain was able to clear for a corner, which Simon claimed just before the game’s end.
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