German media troll Spain after shock 2022 FIFA World Cup exit against Morocco
German media has brutally trolled Spain following their 2022 FIFA World Cup elimination against Morocco in the Round of 16 on Tuesday (December 6).
La Roja were beaten 3-0 on penalties to exit in the Round of 16 of the World Cup for the second time running. Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets missed from the spot as Spain became the first team to lose four World Cup shootouts.
Luis Enrique's side had progressed from Group E as the runners-up after losing 2-1 to Japan in their final game. Former Real Madrid forward Hugo Sanchez made a bold claim that they lost deliberately to avoid Brazil later on in the tournament.
A bit of schadenfreude in the German media this evening
"Spain lost to Japan - which eliminated Germany - to get the 'easy route', they wanted Morocco, got Morocco and got eliminated by Morocco"
Justice
📸 @ransport https://t.co/BF8V5cV9JB
Now, following Spain's last 16 exit againstMorocco, the German media has engaged in a show of schadenfreude, taking pleasure in La Roja's loss by putting out a meme.
German outlet Ran published a photo with the word 'justice' in it and captioned it (via SPORTbible):
"Spain wanted Morocco. Spain got Morocco. Spain is eliminated by Morocco. The DFB team was avenged."
Spain's 2-1 loss to Japan eliminated Germany in the group stage as La Roja snuck ahead of them on goal difference. The Mannschaft had beaten Costa Rica 4-2 in a must-win clash, but their progression hopes were dealt a blow as Japan overcame La Roja to unexepctedly win the group.
However, both teams lost in a shootout in the last 16, with Japan losing 3-1 to Croatia and Spain going down 3-0 to Morocco. The first game had ended 1-1 after 120 minutes, while the second was goalless.
Interestingly, this is La Roja's third straight exit from a major tournament on penalties. They also lost out to Italy in the Euro 2020 semifinal shootout and to Russia in the last 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Spain's promising 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign ends in a whimper
Spain were among the dark horses at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with Luis Enrique calling up a highly talented squad for their Qatar sojourn.
All the talk of them making it far into the tournament was emboldened after La Roja dispatched Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening game.
Luis Enrique told his Spain side to practice 1,000 penalties before the World Cup.
They scored zero in their shootout with Morocco 🤐 https://t.co/v5ohTgF00n
Instead of building on that momentum, though, the 2010 world champions went downhill thereafter, scoring only two more goals in their next three games against Germany, Japan and Morocco.
In all three games, La Roja were generally passive, struggling to capitalise on their ball possession and lacked a serious focal point upfront. However, this is a squad with plenty of talented young guns, which could bounce back.