Germany suffered a stunning defeat on Wednesday, 23 November 2022, losing 1–2 to Japan in their opening match of the World Cup. The Group Stage fixture on Matchday 1 kicked off at 13:00 UTC under the whistle of referee Ivan Cisneros. Germany led 1–0 at half-time, but Japan turned the match around in the second half to claim a famous victory.

The result was a seismic shock for the World Cup’s landscape on Matchday 1. For Germany, a four-time world champion, losing their opening group mat...