What happened in Group E

The World Cup continues. As the final round of Matchday 3 progresses, we can look back and reflect upon results and teams that have progressed to the latter stages of the competition. We look at what happened in Group E.

Looking at what happened in Group E can help World Cup Fantasy managers prepare for next round ahead. Overviewing the results, player performances and key fantasy assets can aid in important factors like transfers, captaincy and chip strategy.

Group E

We can see from the table below that Japan and Spain have progressed to the next stage of the World Cup. We can also see that Germany and Costa Rica have failed to progress.

Japan

Japan faced the difficult task of overcoming European giants Spain and Germany in the group stage. The first match that lay ahead was against Germany. Japan were poor in the first half and that resulted in Germany going ahead. However, after a tactical change the Japanese came out firing. Striker Ritsu Doan (£6m) scored the equaliser. Japan then went onto win the game via striker Takuma Asano (£5.5m) whilst defender Kou Itakura (£4.5m) provided the assist.

Costa Rica was Japan’s next match, and many expected an easy win. However, that wasn’t the case. Japan bombarded Costa Rica, but their defence held. The Costa Rican’s caught Japan out and scored with their only shot on target. This meant Japan needed something from their final match to progress.

Similar to Germany, Japan started poorly. There was a point in the match where they were going to fail to progress to the next stage. However, Japan turned up and equalised against Spain after Ritsu Doan scored and Junyo Ito (£6m) assisted. Japan followed up their equaliser with a dramatic winner. The goal came from midfielder Ao Tanaka (£5m), created by striker Kaoru Mitoma (£5.5m).

Conclusion

Japan seem to play better against opponents that attack them. They fully deserved to win their group and although Ritsu Doan, failed to cement his place in the starting line-up, he became their most important player during the group stages.

The issue with Japan is, not only did they fail to keep any clean sheets in the group stages, but they also have an abundance of strikers which are rotated. This makes it difficult to pick out offensive options within World Cup Fantasy.

Spain

Spain were favourites to win their group and they started strong. The Spanish decimated Costa Rica in Matchday 1 and the score finished 7-0. The goals came from strikers Ferran Torres x2 (£7m) and Alvaro Morata (£8m), midfielders Marco Asensio (£8.5m), Gavi (£7m), Carlos Soler (£6.5m) and Dani Olmo (£8m). The assists that were created were provided by defender Jordi Alba (£6m), Alvaro Morata and Dani Olmo.

With three points already in the bag, Spain faced a tough a match against the desperate Germany in Matchday 2. Spain dominated the majority of the game and scored in the second half via an Alvaro Morata goal and Jordi Alba assist. But the German’s equalised meaning Spain picked up a point from the match.

Spain rotated in Matchday 3 knowing their four points would probably be enough to qualify. They started well against Japan and scored through Alavaro Morata, assisted by defender Cesar Azpilicueta (£5m). Spain lost their dominance and ended conceding two quick fire goals to Japan. They lost the match 2-1.

Conclusion

Spain were dominant in all of the matches they played but in two cases, failed to kill the game off. Not having a focal point to the attack could give them problems moving forward. Although that was the case, Alvaro Morata proved to be a key player for Spain, even when he failed to start.

Jordi Alba was another key player for Spain. He created two assists and looked extremely creative in the matches he did play. Alba could be a high priority to fantasy managers moving forward whilst their attacking options may be less appealing.

Germany

Germany failed to progress. In Matchday 1 the Germans were fantastic in the first half. They got off to an early lead when defender David Raum (£4.5m) earned the penalty that was converted by midfielder Ilkay Gundogan (£7.5m). Japan’s tactical change proved too much for Germany in the second half and crumbled to a 2-1 loss.

With no points going into Matchday 2, Germany had to get something out of Spain. Spain showed early domination and they scored in the second half. The Germans needed a reaction, and that reaction came after striker Niclas Fullkrug (£7.5m) scored from midfielder Jamal Musiala’s (£8m) assist. The game ended 1-1 and Germany had earned just one point from their two matches so far.

Germany went into Matchday 3 needing both a win and a positive result for Spain to have any hopes of progressing. It was a fantastic match which saw plenty of goals. Germany dominated the game and the early dominance paid off as striker Serge Gnabry (£9m) scored via a David Raum assist. Costa Rica equalised and scored again 12 minutes later. Germany responded with striker Kai Havertz (8.5m) scoring after a Niclas Fullkrug assist. The Germans took control and scored again. Kai Havertz scored his second goal of the game after Serge Gnabry provided the assist. Niclas Fullkrug added their fourth goal which was created by midfielder Leroy Sane (£9m). The match finished 4-2 to Germany but failed to progress because Spain lost to Japan.

Conclusion

Germany have some fantastic talent but failed to convert that talent into results. Losing the first match to Japan proved detrimental to their failure. David Raum did impress in defence and Jamal Musiala also caught the eye. However, their contributions were not enough.

Costa Rica

It was an awful showing by Costa Rica in Matchday 1 as they were dismantled emphatically by Spain in their 7-0 defeat. Their defensive and offensive ability were missing, and it proved deadly. Costa Rica went into the Matchday 2 game needing a result.

Matchday 2 came, and Japan lay ahead. Costa Rica defended well but they were very lucky to not concede. defender Keysher Fuller (£3.5m) scored with Costa Rica’s only shot on target in the game, the assist was provided by midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda (£4.5m). Costa Rica got the three points but still needed a result from their last match to progress.

Matchday 3 arrived, and Costa Rica came up against a desperate Germany. After conceding, Costa Rica reacted well. They equalised through Yeltsin Tejeda and forced the opposition goalkeeper into giving them an own goal. Although they were leading, they failed to maintain it. Costa Rica lost the match 4-2.

Costa Rica

The Costa Rican’s played a defensive tactic through their group stages, and it didn’t work. They lacked quality in all areas of the pitch and were very lucky to win their match against Japan.