Japan and Spain both have plenty to play for as they enter the final Group E matchday occupying the top two slots, which would see them through to the next round. Only the top two teams in each World Cup group advance to the Round of 16.
Spain want to finish as group winners, and a win would lock up first place. A draw could also get the job done if Costa Rica lose or draw their match with Germany.
Japan know that they’re eliminated with a loss to Spain, and even a draw wouldn’t necessarily be enough if Germany earn a big win and pad their goal difference against Costa Rica. Going for the victory comes with an added benefit for Japan: they would leapfrog Spain for the top spot and face the Group F runner-up in the knockouts.
Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights for Japan vs Spain at the 2022 World Cup. Follow below for complete results from the Group E match in Qatar.
MORE: Best bets for Japan vs Spain
Japan vs Spain live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Japan | — | — | — |
| Spain | — | — | — |
Goals:
None
Projected lineups:
Japan (4-5-1, right to left): 12-Gonda (GK) — 2-Yamane, 4-Itakura, 22-Yoshida, 5-Nagatomo — 14-J. Ito, 17-Tanaka, 15-Kamada, 13-H. Morita, 11-Kubo — 25-Maeda
Spain (4-3-3, right to left): 23-Simon (GK) — 20-Carvajal, 3-Garcia, 24-Laporte, 18-Alba — 8-Koke, 5-Busquets, 26-Pedri — 10-Asensio, 7-Morata, 11-Torres
MORE: Watch every World Cup match live with fuboTV (U.S.-only free trial)
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Spain | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | +7 |
| 2. Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 3. Costa Rica | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -6 |
| 4. Germany | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
Japan vs Spain live updates, highlights from 2022 World Cup
4 hrs 15 mins from kickoff: Will Alvaro Morata get a start in this match? He scored off the bench against Costa Rica and Germany and will be keen to prove himself in the starting 11 as Spain begin to look towards the knockouts.
Déjà vu? 👀 Alvaro Morata steps up again from the bench to secure Spain a 1-1 draw with Germany.💥
Has your @Budweiser Player of the Match done enough to start in their 3rd & final game of the group stages? 🤔
🇪🇸 #ESPGER 🇩🇪 @Budfootball #POTM #YoursToTake #BringHomeTheBud pic.twitter.com/xg7KXuaEpZ
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 27, 2022
4 hrs 45 mins from kickoff: We haven’t seen much of Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu for Japan in this World Cup and he did not get into the Costa Rica match. But in a do-or-die match against Spain for qualification he wants to play through the groin issue he’s dealing with.
🗣️| Tomiyasu on his groin issues:
“The pain is fine. I can do it. I want to get the power we have.”
Tomiyasu has been in full training with the #JPN squad & expected to be ready for the match against Spain.
Tomiyasu had a problem with his groin vs #GER & #CRC [@Yahoo_JAPAN_PR]
— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) November 30, 2022
5 hrs from kickoff: The referee of this game officiated the Africa Cup of Nations final where he offered Mo Salah his whistle and cards for the Egypt captain to call the game.
Víctor Gomes será el árbitro del España – Japón en el mundial de Qatar.
Arbitró la final de la última Copa de África donde fue mundialmente conocido por esta escena con Mohamed Salah, jugador del Liverpool.pic.twitter.com/FC4hkK5rxx
— Regla18 reloaded (@Regla18R) November 30, 2022
Japan vs Spain lineups, team news
The Japanese media is expecting manager Hajime Moriyasu to keep the backline unchanged despite Takehiro Tomiyasu’s insistence he’s fine to play through a groin issue.
The projected lineups calls for wingers Junya Ito and Takefusa Kubo to retake their starting roles along with center-mid Ao Tanaka and forward Daizen Maeda. Except for Ito, that group was rested against Costa Rica.
Japan (4-5-1, right to left): 12-Gonda (GK) — 2-Yamane, 4-Itakura, 22-Yoshida, 5-Nagatomo — 14-J. Ito, 17-Tanaka, 15-Kamada, 13-H. Morita, 11-Kubo — 25-Maeda
According to the Spanish sports dailies, Gavi and Rodri will be getting a break after picking up knocks against Germany with Koke and Eric Garcia reportedly taking their place in the starting XI.
Dani Olmo could be a candidate for a break given he went the full 90 in the first two matches and is only recently removed from a knee injury.
Spain (4-3-3, right to left): 23-Simon (GK) — 20-Carvajal, 3-Garcia, 24-Laporte, 18-Alba — 8-Koke, 5-Busquets, 26-Pedri — 10-Asensio, 7-Morata, 11-Torres
Japan vs Spain live stream, TV channel
This final Group E match will be played at the Khalifa International Stadium. Here’s how you can watch all the action in some of the major global territories.
| Date | Time | TV Channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Thu, Dec 1 | 14:00 ET | Fox, Telemundo |
fuboTV, Fox Sports site/app, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Peacock |
| Canada | Thu, Dec 1 | 14:00 ET | TSN 2, CTV, RDS (French) | TSN site/app, CTV app RDS app |
| UK | Thu, Dec 1 | 19:00 GMT | ITV 4, STV | ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | Fri, Dec. 2 | 06:00 AEDT | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Fri, Dec 2 | 00:30 IST | Sports 18 | Voot, JioTV |
| Hong Kong | Fri, Dec 2 | 03:00 HKT | Now TV (Ch. 616, 618) | Now TV |
| Malaysia | Fri, Dec 2 | 03:00 MYT | Astro FIFA World Cup 1 | Astro GO |
| Singapore | Fri, Dec 2 | 03:00 SGT | StarHub TV FIFA World Cup, Singtel FIFA World Cup 142 | Singtel TV GO, CAST, StarHub TV+, MeWatch |
| New Zealand | Fri, Dec. 2 | 08:00 NZDT | Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports | Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW |
Watch the match on fuboTV in USA:
Credit: sportingnews.com