AL KHOR, Qatar — In some ways, Niclas Füllkrug’s equalizer with seven minutes remaining didn’t change Germany’s chances of making it through to the World Cup’s knockout stage all that much. It still has to beat Costa Rica to make it through, the only difference after a 1–1 draw with Spain being that it is not relying on Luis Enrique’s side to beat Japan. A high-scoring tie in that game could create issues if Germany wins by only one, but, barring something very unexpected, victory over Costa Rica will be enough to make the knockout stage.
But in other ways, this result and performance at Al Bayt Stadium were vital. This is the first time Germany has ever failed to win either of its first two games at a World Cup. But more significant is that it did not suffer a second successive defeat and, particularly, that in the final 20 minutes or so, it finally looked like a match for Spain. When it needed to, it found the strength of character to force an equalizer.
Germany is not unfamiliar with early defeats in World Cups. In both 1954 and 1974 West Germany went on to win the tournament despite defeats in the group, to Hungary and East Germany, respectively. In 1982, West Germany lost to Algeria, but still made the final. Even in 2014, when Germany was last triumphant, there was a major early wobble in a draw against Ghana. Its strength has always been its capacity to fight back from that, usually following a robust team meeting.
