JAPAN - COSTA RICA

Japan has a real chance to qualify to ⅛ finals and I believe they will do it.

Japan made a good performance against Germany, although they were outplayed in the first half, managed to comeback in the second half scoring two goals, creating chances and being very dangerous at counters. Japan showed (luckily) that they have the experience and patience to wait for their chances, as they did.

They have pace in wide positions, especially in the wings, and will find a good opportunity here to control the game because, unlike Spain and Germany, Costa Rica does not have a possession-focused team (Japan lacks central midfield strength).

Although probably Japan had very few hopes for this difficult group, now they just need to win this game to make a big step to the ⅛ finals. Knowing that their next rival will be Spain and probably will be defeated, they just need to beat one of the worst squads in the tournament. And they have the ability and quality to do it.

Costa Rica made an awful performance in the opening game, where they were totally outplayed by Spain, losing 7:0 and without creating a single chance. They were terrible in all aspects: defense, midfield and attack. Of course this isn’t their real level, but they aren't either a very strong team.

Los Ticos were the final team to book their place at this year’s World Cup, defeating New Zealand 1:0 in the intercontinental playoffs back in June. Have a very weak squad with the majority of players playing in the weak Liga Promerica in Cost Rica (while Japan has the majority of squad playing their trade in Europe’s top divisions).

Costa Rica also has a lack of quality options through the spine. It’s in the defense where they have their strong point and it could be a problem against a team with lack of goal and who usually struggle to score goals like Japan. But I really believe that the Blue Samurais should win here if they show a good level, as they did in the second half against Germany.

Costa Rica has very few chances to qualify, and this could affect their motivation, while Japan had a big boost in their morale after an unexpected victory over Germany's.

SPAIN - GERMANY

No favorites here.

Spain made an amazing performance against Costa Rica, but that isn’t the real level of the team. That was just those kind of days where everything goes smoothly and perfectly.

The midfield of Spain is the strong point, with Gavi and Pedri (18 and 20 years old) with the support of veteran Sergio Busquets. This is a perfect combination in this kind of games where Spain dominates and can control the pace of the game. But it’s a problem against top teams with strong midfield, able to put a high pace in the midfield (as seen in Barcelona): Busquets dont have enough rhythm to follow a high-pace match and Gavi + Pedri can’t control the midfield alone, so the team struggles. We already saw this in FC Barcelona this season, especially in the Champions League.

And Germany has a very strong midfield to compete here, with Kimmich, Gundogan and Goretzka, with experience and able to put the pace they want.

In attack Spain has quality, but none of the strikers are top 5 or either top10 in their position. Some of them aren’t even starters in their clubs (Asensio, Ferran Torres) while others are in awful form (Morata).

On the other hand, Germany’s result against Japan was misleading. They played a perfect first half, creating a lot of chances, controlling the game, showing a lot of alternatives and options to attack, solid in defense… Deserved to go leading by 2-3 goals but did it only by 1, conceding two unlucky goals in the second half (the second goal came from nowhere).

But I still believe that Germany could qualify here. Germany has a club with a lot of individual quality, mainly based in Bayern Munich, one of the best teams in the world right now. In defense they have a very solid block with Rudiger and Sule/Ginter, able to stop the weak Spanish strikers.

But it’s in the midfield where will be the key of this match. Is there where Germany needs to be at 100% and put a high pace in the game to break the Spanish strong point (midfield), because Busquets can’t afford to follow that level. And I see the German team with Kimmich, Gundogan and Goretzka able to do it, as they did in the Champions League (Bayern - Barcelona).

If Germany plays at the same level as the first half against Japan, should be able to avoid a defeat here. For Spain a draw won’t be a bad deal: starting the third round with 4 points (not counting more potential points against Japan) and Germany with 1 they will always be above them (unless Germany beats Costa Rica by 8 goals), so Spain will be qualified to ⅛ finals with a draw here.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

日本-哥斯达黎加

日本队有机会晋级到决赛，我相信他们能做到。

日本队在对阵德国的比赛中表现出色，尽管他们在上半场被对手压制，但他们在下半场成功逆转，打进两球，创造了机会，在反击中非常危险。日本(幸运地)展示了他们有经验和耐心等待机会，正如他们所做的那样。

他们在边路位置有速度，尤其是在边路，他们会在这里找到一个很好的机会来控制比赛，因为与西班牙和德国不同，哥斯达黎加没有一支注重控球的球队(日本队缺乏中场力量)。

尽管日本队在这个困难的小组中可能没有什么希望，但现在他们只需要赢得这场比赛，就能向⅛决赛迈出一大步。他们知道他们的下一个对手将是西班牙，而且很可能会被击败，他们只需要击败比赛中最差的球队之一。他们有能力和素质去做这件事。

哥斯达黎加在首场比赛中表现糟糕，完全被西班牙击败，0比7输掉比赛，没有创造一次机会。他们在各个方面都很糟糕:防守、中场和进攻。当然这不是他们真正的水平，但他们也不是一支非常强大的球队。

洛蒂斯科斯是最后一支获得今年世界杯入场券的球队，他们在今年6月的洲际季后赛中以1:0击败了新西兰。有一个非常弱的阵容，大多数球员在弱旅哥斯达黎加的西甲踢球(而日本的大部分球员在欧洲顶级联赛踢球)。

哥斯达黎加在后腰上也缺乏高质量的选择。防守是他们的强项，在面对日本队这样缺乏进球的球队时，这可能会成为一个问题。但我真的相信，如果他们表现出良好的水平，就应该在这里赢得比赛，就像他们在下半场对阵德国时所做的那样。

哥斯达黎加很少有机会出线，这可能会影响他们的积极性，而日本队在出人意料地战胜德国队后士气大增。

西班牙-德国

这里没有喜欢的。

西班牙在对阵哥斯达黎加的比赛中表现出色，但这并不是该队真正的水平。那是那种一切都很顺利，很完美的日子。

西班牙的中场是强项，加维和佩德里(18岁和20岁)和老将布斯克茨的支持。在这种比赛中，这是一个完美的组合，西班牙统治着比赛，可以控制比赛的节奏。但在面对拥有强大中场的顶级球队时，这是一个问题，他们能够在中场加快节奏(比如巴萨):布斯克茨没有足够的节奏来跟上一场快节奏的比赛，加维+佩德里无法单独控制中场，所以球队很挣扎。我们已经在本赛季的巴塞罗那看到了这一点，特别是在欧冠。

德国有一个非常强大的中场可以在这里竞争，金米奇、冈多根和戈雷茨卡都有经验，能够打出他们想要的节奏。

在进攻端，西班牙有实力，但是没有一个前锋在他们的位置上进入前五或者前十。他们中的一些人甚至不是俱乐部的首发球员(阿森西奥，托雷斯)，而另一些人的状态很糟糕(莫拉塔)。

另一方面，德国对日本的比赛结果具有误导性。他们上半场踢得很完美，创造了很多机会，控制了比赛，展示了很多进攻的选择和选择，防守稳固，理应以2-3球领先，但只领先了1球，下半场不幸丢了两个球(第二个球从天而降)。

但我仍然相信德国能在这里出线。德国有一支个人实力很强的俱乐部，主要是拜仁慕尼黑，目前世界上最好的球队之一。在防守方面，他们有一个非常稳固的防线，有鲁迪格和苏里/金特，能够阻挡虚弱的西班牙前锋。

但是中场才是这场比赛的关键。德国队是否需要百分百的发挥，并在比赛中投入高节奏来打破西班牙的强势(中场)，因为布斯克茨无法达到那样的水平。我认为德国球队有基米奇、冈多根和戈雷茨卡能够做到这一点，就像他们在欧冠(拜仁-巴萨)中所做的那样。

如果德国队发挥出与日本队上半场相同的水平，应该能够避免在这里的失败。对于西班牙来说，一场平局不会是一笔糟糕的交易:第三轮开赛时积4分(对日本不算更多的积分)，德国积1分，他们将永远排在他们前面(除非德国以8球击败哥斯达黎加)，所以西班牙只要在这里打平就可以晋级到八分之一决赛。