Sunday , 16 August 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 Curaçao 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 wait is over. Japan get us underway at Khalifa International Stadium.
  • 5' A tactical chess match is unfolding here. The question is which manager blinks first.
  • 10' Spain fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
  • 11' Alvaro Morata does the damage! The net is bulging and Spain surge ahead!
  • 12' Alvaro Morata with the second goal in the match!
  • 17' It looks surprising Japan does not make any changes. Junya Ito has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
  • 22' We miss some good tackles and strikes. Is there anyone on the field to put the game back to action?
  • 27' Japan are keeping things exceptionally tight at the back. It will take something special to break them down.
  • 32' With 1 assists to his name this season, Ko Itakura is clearly more than just a goal scorer for Spain.
  • 37' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 0 times this season with winning -% of all matches.
  • 39' That is a Yellow card for Japan. Ko Itakura will be fuming at that decision.
  • 44' Japan receives a Yellow card for a hard tackle on 44.
  • 45' Maya Yoshida has been a danger all night but risks an early exit having now seen a Yellow card on 45.
  • 46' A change in the Japan ranks — Takefusa Kubo exits the field as Ritsu Doan enters on 46.
  • 48' Clinical. Composed. Brilliant. Ritsu Doan makes it 1-2.
  • 51' Assisted by Kaoru Mitoma with the perfectly-timed delivery and Ao Tanaka makes no mistake. 2-2!
  • 53' Against the run of play, Ao Tanaka has scored! This game has turned on its head.
  • 54' GOAL! Ao Tanaka fires home to make it 4-2!
  • 57' The supporters are chanting for Ferran Torres. He replaces Nico Williams on 57 minute.
  • 62' Daizen Maeda makes way for Takuma Asano at the 62 minute mark. A tactical switch from Japan.
  • 67' Shuichi Gonda has been relatively quiet despite scoring 0 goals in his last 279 appearances.
  • 68' Another substitution for Spain to replace Pablo Gavira by Ansu Fati on 68 minute.
  • 69' Jordi Alba is ready to make an impact after coming on for Alejandro Balde at the 69 minute mark.
  • 74' A quiet spell here at Khalifa International Stadium. Japan seem content sitting deep and soaking up pressure.
  • 79' Japan started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 79.
  • 84' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Pablo Gavira suffering a number of foals already.
  • 87' Time for substitution for Japan. Ao Tanaka is replaced by Wataru Endo.
  • With this win, Japan is likely to improve its situation in the overall team standings.

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.