🌍 Germany score late to draw with Spain; Belgium lose; Canada eliminated | OneFootball

This could prove to be a pivotal day at the World Cup with Germany taking on Spain in today’s late game.

You can follow all the action from that and the rest of the games on matchday eight live here.

Spain and Germany share the spoils

Scorers: Morata 62′; Füllkrug 82′

Germany picked up their first point of the competition as Niclas Füllkrug’s late strike cancelled out Alváro Morata’s opener.

Spain started in blistering fashion as Dani Olmo forced Manuel Neuer into a fantastic save. Some quick interplay on the edge of the area ended with Olmo cutting inside and firing a powerful shot which the German keeper tipped onto the crossbar.

Hansi Flick’s side thought they had taken the lead as we approached the break when Antonio Rüdiger met Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick with an unmarked header. The goal, however, was brought back by VAR as the Real Madrid defender had strayed offside.

A mistake or a moment of brilliance was seemingly going to decide this match and it was nearly the former. Playing out from the back Spain were caught in possession on the edge of their penalty area but Unai Simón parried Kimmich’s effort.

And yet a moment later Luis Enrique’s side took the lead. Morata, on as a second-half substitute, stole in ahead of his Niklas Süle to deftly flick Jordi Alba’s low cross beyond Neuer.

With the clock ticking into the final ten minutes, Germany finally found their goal through second-half substitute Füllkrug. Leroy Sané combined with Jamal Musiala before Füllkrug pinched the ball off his teammate and fired a powerful effort beyond Simón.

Spain claim top spot in Group E whilst, despite getting on the board, Germany remain bottom with one point.

Croatia hit four as Canada are eliminated

Scorers: Kramarić 36′, 71′, Livaja 44′, Majer 90+4′; Davies 2′

Despite a bright start from the Canadians, Croatia’s quality shone through with Zlatko Dalić’s side picked up their first win of the tournament as Canada are eliminated.

Alphonso Davies, who missed a crucial penalty against Belgium in Canada’s opening game, wasn’t to be denied twice. Within two minutes the Bayern Munich defender burst into the box to head home his nation’s first-ever World Cup goal.

Croatia struggled to gain a foothold in the opening exchanges but had the ball in the back of the net on the half-hour mark. Carving Canada open with some fluid build-up play, Andrej Kramarić has the ball in the back of the net but it’s ruled out for offside.

Soon after, a period of sustained pressure by Croatia saw Canada unable to clear their lines as Ivan Perišić played a delightful reverse ball for Kramarić to expertly finish from a tight angle before Marko Livaja fired them ahead on the stroke of half-time.

Canada, much like in the first half, started the second period brightly but could only test Dominik Livaković with a Jonathan David strike from range. Their opponents, however, remained clinical and put the game beyond reach with 20 minutes remaining.

Set up after some bright work down the left flank by Ivan Perišić, who set up the first goal, Hoffenheim forward Kramarić kept his composure at the back post to cut inside and roll the ball beyond Borjan doubling his personal tally for the day.

A defensive mistake in the dying moments of the game by Kamal Miller gifted Croatia further gloss on their performance as, with a two-on-one with the goalkeeper, Mslav Orsić squared the pass to Lovro Majer as the game ended 4-1.

Super subs fire Morocco to Belgium win

Scorers: Sabiri 73′, Aboukhlal 90+2′

Morocco leapfrogged Belgium and put the dark horses’ hopes of progression in real jeopardy with a deserved 2-0 win in Al Thumama.

Michy Batshuayi went close for the Red Devils early on but brought a smart save out of Monir El Kajoui, who was a surprise inclusion in the line-up ahead of regular starting goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who was left out at the last moment after feeling ill during the national anthem.

At the other end, Thibaut Courtois wasn’t troubled until the final moment of the half when Hakim Ziyech whipped a dangerous free-kick at goal which beat Thibaut Courtois, only for it to be disallowed for the tightest of offside calls following a VAR check.

But Belgium failed to learn their lesson from that free-kick and a repeat from the opposite wing did produce the opener on 73 minutes when substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri spun his effort in at the near post, although Courtois should have dealt with it better.

And they put the seal on an epic victory in stoppage time when Ziyech did brilliantly down the right before cutting back for another substitute Zakaria Aboukhlal to thrash an effort into the roof of the net from the centre of the area.

The result means Morocco move on to four points from two games, with Belgium on three, ahead of Croatia’s clash with Canada, as they aim to reach the knockout phase for the first time since 1986.

Costa Rica spring surprise win on Japan

Scorers: Fuller 81′

Group E has been blown wide open after Costa Rica pulled off a shock victory over Japan.

Neither side mustered a shot on target in the first half but the second period sprung to life immediately with Hidemasa Morita forcing Keylor Navas into a save with an effort from outside of the area.

A win for Japan would’ve boosted their chances of progressing to the last-16 but it was Luis Fernando Suaréz’s side that claimed the victory when Keysher Fuller lofted the ball into the top corner from just inside the area, escaping the hands of Shūichi Gonda.

Japan pushed for an equaliser and came close in the dying minutes but Navas was equal to Daichi Kamada’s close-range strike, denying the Frankfurt midfielder’s shot with his feet.

Costa Rica held out and move level with Japan on three points ahead of Germany’s clash with Spain this evening.

You can catch up on Saturday’s action here.