Japan entered the round of 16 as Group C toppers followed by Spain at the second spot while Germany got knocked out of the tournament, in FIFA World Cup 2022 on Friday, December 2. The Blue Samurai pulled off a massive victory over Spain, which saw them through along with Luis Enrique and co. However, for Germany, a 4-2 win over Costa Rica was not enough with the 2014 champions being eliminated from the tournament.  Qatar was awarded the FIFA World Cup 2022 after winning a ballot of FIFA's 22 executive members in 2010. Ever since then the country has spent over 300 billion dollars in preparing for the coveted event including the erection of seven new stadiums. With this, Qatar became the first Arab host and the only second Asian country to organize the global soccer tournament. FIFA World Cup 2022 Schedule for Free PDF Download Online: Get Football Fixtures, Time Table With Match Timings in IST and Venue Details

The month-long football event will kick off with the group stage matches featuring 32 qualified nations. Eight groups from A to H of four teams will play in the league phase. The group stage will be played in a round-robin format. Spain, Costa Rica, Germany and Japan are in Group E. The first match of Group E will be played between Germany and Japan on 23 November at Khalifa International Stadium. Ultimately, the top two teams with the maximum points on the table from the group will advance into the round of 16, which is a knockout stage. The bottom two teams on the points table from the group will be eliminated from the showpiece tournament.

FIFA World Cup 2022 Group E Points Table

Position Teams P W D L GF GA GD Points
1 Japan (Q) 3 2 0 1 4 3 1 6
2 Spain (Q) 3 1 1 1 9 3 6 4
3 Germany 3 1 1 1 6 5 1 4
4 Costa Rica 3 1 0 2 3 11 -8 3

Germany is the second most successful team along with Italy to have won the most number of titles after Brazil. Germany have lifted the prestigious trophy four times so far. Spain, another team from group E of this year's edition, is also one of the only eight countries that have won the FIFA World Cup championship. Spain reached the final of the coveted event first time ever in South Africa in 2010 and right away clinched the title.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2022 11:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).