Friend of the site Rikesh Chauhan wrote a lengthy review of the 2022 FIFA World Cup which deserves your time. Here’s an excerpt describing the last round of games from Group E:
The final round? Talk about knife edge. This evening provided the biggest rollercoaster on record since Six Flags. Spain went into half-time 1-0 up against Japan, whilst Germany were ahead against Costa Rica. Japan, again, managed to pull level and take the lead against Spain, and Costa Rica equalised, meaning Spain and Japan would go through. Costa Rica then took the lead, meaning Japan and Costa Rica would go through. Germany then managed to score three, meaning they would go level on points with Spain but thanks to Spain’s superior goal difference, Germany could still be knocked out. Germany, therefore, needed Spain to win to stand any chance of qualifying above Japan. Alas, Moriyasu’s side stayed firm and finished TOP of the group, with Spain second. The kicker, though, was that Japan’s winning goal—which ultimately knocked Germany out—was marred in controversy. The ball, played across the face of the goal by Ritsu Doan, seemingly crossed the line before it was put back in for Ao Tanaka to score. FIFA, strangely, didn’t show any other angles bar the one replay—to any broadcaster in the world—which seemed to indicate the ball clearly had crossed the line. The on-pitch VAR apparently were adamant that whatever they saw was enough to give the goal. Basically, the whole evening was fucking wild.