Match report
A hard-fought 90 minutes in Al Khor on Sunday evening saw the highly-anticipated showdown between Spain and Germany play out into a draw.
One of the headline fixtures of the group stages in Qatar was played to completion a short time ago.
The clash in question saw a Spanish outfit riding high on the back of an opening day demolition of Costa Rica face off with a German side in desperate need of a return to winning ways.
This comes after Die Mannschaft were condemned to the wrong side of one of the shocks of the first round, at the hands of Japan.
When all was said and done at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday, though, the two heavyweights of the global game were ultimately forced to settle for a point apiece.
This came despite Spain having looked firmly in control of proceedings upon Alvaro Morata opening the scoring early in the 2nd-half.
Just beyond the hour mark, hitman Morata, introduced off the bench a short time before, directed Jordi Alba’s low delivery from the left into the top corner of Manuel Neuer’s net with sumptuous style:
Germany, however, soon showcased some much-needed grit, to keep the nation’s World Cup dream alive.
After himself going close a short time before, Bayern Munich sensation Jamal Musiala soon turned provider, laying on another substitute - Niclas Fullkrug - to drag Die Mannschaft level a little over five minutes from time.
And this is how things remained through the final whistle in Al Khor, meaning it remains all to play for on the final day of fixtures in World Cup Group E.
Player ratings
Spain
- Simon - 5.5
- Carvajal - 5.5
- Rodri - 7
- Laporte - 6
- Alba - 7.5
- Busquets - 6
- Gavi - 6.5
- Pedri - 7.5
- Olmo - 6
- Asensio - 5
- Torres - 5
Substitutes: Morata - 7, Koke - 5.5, Williams - 5.5, Balde - N/A
Germany
- Neuer - 5
- Kehrer - 6
- Sule - 5.5
- Rudiger - 6
- Raum - 7
- Kimmich - 6.5
- Goretzka - 6
- Gundogan - 5.5
- Musiala - 8
- Gnabry - 5.5
- Muller - 4.5
Substitutes: Sane - 6, Fullkrug - 7, Klostermann - 5.5, Hofmann - N/A, Schlotterbeck - N/A
Key stats
Fan reaction
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