Saturday , 14 November 2026

Japan vs Spain, Worldcup 2022 GROUP STAGE

FIFA World Cup · 2022
Japan
2 – 1
Full Time
Spain
Thu 1 Dec 2022 · 19:00 UTC Khalifa International Stadium HT 45' · FT 45'
Ko Itakura 39' Y
Shogo Taniguchi 44' Y
Maya Yoshida 45' Y

Overview

Match Preview

Japan vs Spain — Worldcup at Khalifa International Stadium.

  • Japan 3 games · 5 pts (2026/26)
  • Spain 3 games · 7 pts (2026/26)

Match Details

  • Referee Zakhele Siwela
  • Referee Armando Villarreal
  • Referee Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
  • Referee Victor Gomes (South Africa)
  • Referee Souru Phatsoane (Lesotho)
  • Referee Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Mexico 3 9
2 South Africa 3 4
3 South Korea 3 3
4 Czechia 3 1
5 Switzerland 3 7
6 Canada 3 4
7 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 4
8 Qatar 3 1
9 Brazil 3 7
10 Morocco 3 7
11 Scotland 3 3
12 Haiti 3 0
13 United States 3 6
14 Australia 3 4
15 Paraguay 3 4
16 Turkey 3 3
17 Germany 3 6
18 Ivory Coast 3 6
19 Ecuador 3 4
20 Curacao 3 1
21 Netherlands 3 7
22 Japan 3 5
23 Sweden 3 4
24 Tunisia 3 0
25 Belgium 3 5
26 Egypt 3 5
27 Iran 3 3
28 New Zealand 3 1
29 Spain 3 7
30 Cape Verde Islands 3 3
31 Uruguay 3 2
32 Saudi Arabia 3 2
33 France 3 9
34 Norway 3 6
35 Senegal 3 3
36 Iraq 3 0
37 Argentina 3 9
38 Austria 3 4
39 Algeria 3 4
40 Jordan 3 0
41 Colombia 3 7
42 Portugal 3 5
43 Congo DR 3 4
44 Uzbekistan 3 0
45 England 3 7
46 Croatia 3 6
47 Ghana 3 4
48 Panama 3 0

Head-to-Head

1
Japan 1 games · Avg 3.0 goals Spain
Last 5 meetings
2022-12-01 Japan 2–1 Spain

Recent Form

Japan
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
01 Dec Spain H 2–1 W
27 Nov Costa Rica H 0–1 L
23 Nov Germany A 2–1 W
24 Jun Ecuador A 1–1 D
20 Jun Uruguay A 2–2 D
17 Jun Chile H 0–4 L
Spain
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
01 Dec Japan A 1–2 L
27 Nov Germany H 1–1 D
23 Nov Costa Rica H 7–0 W
06 Jul Italy A 3–5 L
02 Jul Switzerland A 4–2 W
28 Jun Croatia A 5–3 W

Season Stats

Japan Spain
#22 Position #29
5 Points 7
3 Played 3
1 / 2 / 0 W / D / L 2 / 1 / 0
7 Scored 5
3 Conceded 0
+4 GD +5
1.67 PPG 2.33
33% Win % 67%

Key Stats

100% Both Teams to Score
H2H (1 games)
100% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
25% Clean Sheets
Japan this season
88% Clean Sheets
Spain this season

Japan are 22nd (5 pts). Spain are 29th (7 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Japan
0-15
1/–
16-30
1/–
31-45
1/–
46-60
2/2
61-75
1/2
76+
2/1
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Spain
0-15
1/–
16-30
4/–
31-45
2/1
46-60
1/–
61-75
1/–
76+
4/–
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Top Scorers (This Season)

Japan
Ayase Ueda 2 G 1 A
Daichi Kamada 2 G
Spain
Mikel Oyarzabal 5 G 1 A

Events

Match Events

  • 0' The game is set. Japan kicks off things out of here…
  • 5' Spain international Jordi Alba has been a key figure this campaign — 0 goals and 0 assists in the Array this season.
  • 10' The travelling Spain supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
  • 11' Brilliant from the forward! Alvaro Morata makes it 0-1 with a superb finish on 11.
  • 12' Magnificent from Alvaro Morata! That is 128 goals in 419 appearances — and it could not have come at a better time.
  • 17' It looks like no one’s ball. Spain is used to counterattacking playing. None of the sides are ready to take the lead.
  • 22' It’s high time Luis Enrique made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 27' Neither side is committing men forward. This has all the hallmarks of a tense, tactical contest.
  • 32' Japan currently sit in the Array table. A result here could be decisive in the race for the top positions.
  • 37' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
  • 39' The referee shows Japan player a Yellow card on 39.
  • 44' The referee calls foul for Shogo Taniguchi. He receives a Yellow card.
  • 45' Japan receives a Yellow card for a hard tackle on 45.
  • 46' Ritsu Doan is ready to make an impact after coming on for Takefusa Kubo at the 46 minute mark.
  • 48' A stunning finish from Ritsu Doan — that came from absolutely nowhere!
  • 51' GOAL! Ao Tanaka scores on 51. Assisted by Kaoru Mitoma
  • 53' Goal! Ao Tanaka scores his 25 goal in 452 matches.
  • 54' Ao Tanaka adds to his 0 season tally! Japan lead 4-2 — and this changes everything.
  • 57' The Spain bench stirs into life. Nico Williams is withdrawn and Ferran Torres gets his opportunity.
  • 62' The Japan bench stirs into life. Daizen Maeda is withdrawn and Takuma Asano gets his opportunity.
  • 67' The tempo has dropped considerably in the last few minutes. Luis Enrique will be considering his options from the bench.
  • 68' Spain manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Ansu Fati is hanging Pablo Gavira on the field on 68 minute.
  • 69' The whistle greets Alejandro Balde as he departs to be replaced by Jordi Alba.
  • 74' Spectators do not have much to choose from both teams. The sides had several scoring chances but they still need a bit more than just a sight of a goal.
  • 79' The energy levels are beginning to show. Hajime Moriyasu might look to freshen things up shortly.
  • 84' Supporters expect more eagerness from Daichi Kamada, as he is very good at scoring at Khalifa International Stadium with 0 goals in the last 0 games.
  • 87' A tactical swap from Japan — Wataru Endo on, Ao Tanaka off on 87 minutes.
  • Hope, you loved the show. Another epic battle is over with the score 2-1.

Lineups

Japan Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Hajime Moriyasu

Spain Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Luis Enrique

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
0 / 4
1 Japan xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.44 Spain xG
I would bet for: Japan or Spain 72% + Under 2.5 goals 56%

Match Result

✗ Wrong
Japan33% Draw28% Spain39%
Actual: Japan win

Both Teams to Score

✗ Wrong
Yes49% 0% No51%
Avg goals/match: 2.44
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✗ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 89%
11%
± 1.5 70%
30%
± 2.5 44%
56%
± 3.5 23%
77%
± 4.5 11%
89%

Double Chance

Japan or Draw
61%
Draw or Spain
67%
Japan or Spain
72%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Japan19% Draw49% Spain32%
Actual: Spain win at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
1 – 1
13.4%
0 – 1
11.5%
0 – 0
10.8%
0 – 2
8.8%
1 – 2
8.7%
1 – 0
7.6%
2 – 1
Actual
2 – 2
4.4%
1 – 3
4.2%
2 – 0
4.2%
0 – 3
4.2%
2 – 3
2.2%

Asian Handicap — Japan

Handicap Japan covers Push Spain covers
-2.5 3% — 97%
-2 3% 7% 91%
-1.5 9% — 91%
-1 9% 15% 75%
-0.5 25% — 75%
+0.5 54% — 46%
+1 54% 23% 23%
+1.5 77% — 23%
+2 77% 14% 9%
+2.5 91% — 9%

Clean Sheet

Japan keeps clean sheet
24% ✓
Spain keeps clean sheet
37% ✓

Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.