Match 12
Morocco v Croatia
Morocco have held 2018 runners-up Croatia to a scoreless draw in their opening group match at Qatar 2022.
In a match which proved incredibly short of meaningful goal-scoring opportunities, Croatia dominated in possession with Luka Modric drifting seamlessly between both ends of the park, while the Moroccans had more shots with Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui coming the closest to scoring with a saved header in the second-half.
Torino playmaker Nikola Vlasic's chance from late in the opening 45 minutes would be the closest the Croatians came to threatening the Moroccan goal, with the European side notably lacking the energy and spark which saw them go so deep into the tournament at Russia 2018.
The match ended in the third scoreless draw of the tournament from only nine matches, after Denmark and Tunisia shared spoils on matchday 3, as did Mexico and Poland.
Match 11
Germany v Japan
Japan completed a phenomenal comeback in the second major upset of the 2022 tournament thus far, stunning 2014 champions Germany 2-1 in their World Cup Group E opener.
Manchester City midfielder İlkay Gündoğan opened the scoring with a penalty 12 minutes out from half-time, while forward Kai Havertz had a goal ruled out for offside in the final minutes of the opening half.
Die Mannschaft dominated in possession and had a colossal 26 attempts on goal including nine on target, but a heroic performance from Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda kept the Germans at bay for the remainder of the match.
The shot-stopper's heroics paved the way for the Samurai Blue's late comeback, as Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano struck back within eight minutes of each other to snatch the lead.
The result was the Germans' second consecutive loss at a World Cup, after exiting the group stage in 2018 with a 2-0 loss to Japan's AFC affiliates South Korea.
Match 10
Spain v Costa Rica
Following Germany's shock defeat from earlier in the day, Spain took a commanding lead in Group E with a 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica.
A rampant Spanish side shared the goals around on the night, with even Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Keylor Navas helpless in preventing La Roja's attacking onslaught which yielded 17 attempts and six different goalscorers.
Dani Olmo opened the scoring inside the opening 15 minutes, followed soon after by a tidy finish Marco Ansensio who expertly found the end of a Jordi Alba cross.
Ferran Torres netted a brace on either side of the interval with a calmly taken penalty and upon capitalising on some poor Costa Rican defending, with Barcelona midfielder Gavi adding a fifth in the 74th minute.
Spain ended the Central Americans' misery with two late goals from Carlos Soler and substitute Alvaro Morata, en route to their biggest ever win at a World Cup. Costa Rica failed to produce a single shot on goal throughout the entire match and controlled just 18 per cent of the possession.
Match 9
Belgium v Canada
The efforts of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois kept the Canadians at bay in the latter's first World Cup match since 1986, with Belgium claiming a 1-0 victory to start the tournament at the top of Group F.
The Canadian attack, led by forwards Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies, looked threatening from the outset and were rewarded for their early dominance with a VAR-awarded penalty inside the opening 10 minutes.
However, Davies effort from the spot was saved comfortably by Courtois down the bottom left corner, as the Belgian keeper was resolute in stopping Canada's 21 other attempts on goal throughout the match.
After an incredible through ball from veteran centre-back Toby Alderweireld, Fenerbahçe striker Michy Batshuayi dashed past his defender and fired a shot past Milan Borjan on the half-volley to take the lead for Belgium right on the cusp of half-time.
Despite multiple close efforts, Canada failed to find the back of the net but will look forward to testing out the stubborn defence of Croatia in their second group match.
