Wednesday , 30 September 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' Here we go! The referee blows the whistle and Japan launch into their encounter with Spain.
  • 5' Matchday of the Array and both teams know exactly what is at stake tonight.
  • 10' It’s high time Luis Enrique made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 11' The Spain forward Alvaro Morata breaks the deadlock on 11 minutes. 0-1!
  • 12' Brilliant from the forward! Alvaro Morata makes it 0-2 with a superb finish on 12.
  • 17' Japan are keeping things exceptionally tight at the back. It will take something special to break them down.
  • 22' With 0 assists to his name this season, Maya Yoshida is clearly more than just a goal scorer for Japan.
  • 27' A tactical chess match is unfolding here. The question is which manager blinks first.
  • 32' While there is no rush on the pitch, let’s have a look at some stats. Dani Olmo made 191 appearances and scored 53 goals. He is very likely to score a goal today.
  • 37' Neither side is committing men forward. This has all the hallmarks of a tense, tactical contest.
  • 39' Poor challenge from Ko Itakura. The referee spots it immediately and shows the Yellow card.
  • 44' That is a Yellow card for Japan. Shogo Taniguchi will be fuming at that decision.
  • 45' Maya Yoshida is having his name booked by the referee on 45.
  • 46' The Japan manager makes a substitution. Takefusa Kubo departs to be replaced by Ritsu Doan.
  • 48' Ritsu Doan makes no mistake. The score reads 1-2 and Japan are in front.
  • 51' GOAL! Ao Tanaka fires home to make it 2-2!
  • 53' Brilliant from the ! Ao Tanaka makes it 3-2 with a superb finish on 53.
  • 54' Ao Tanaka makes a hat-trick on 54.
  • 57' The Spain manager makes a substitution. Nico Williams departs to be replaced by Ferran Torres.
  • 62' The Japan bench stirs into life. Daizen Maeda is withdrawn and Takuma Asano gets his opportunity.
  • 67' has dominated the recent head-to-head record, winning 0 of the last 0 meetings.
  • 68' The whistle greets Pablo Gavira as he departs to be replaced by Ansu Fati.
  • 69' Time for substitution for Spain. Alejandro Balde is replaced by Jordi Alba.
  • 74' We are waiting for someone to take the initiative. Who will be the first to commit to attack?
  • 79' Spain is showing some good football. However, Spain are ready to play back every minute. It might result in some problems for the home side. The game will hardly remain goalless.
  • 84' Japan are deployed in a today, looking to exploit space against Spain's shape.
  • 87' Japan manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Wataru Endo is hanging Ao Tanaka on the field on 87 minute.
  • Spain will have plenty to reflect on. Japan were simply the better side today.

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.