Shades of 2018: Sports world in shock after Germany drops another World Cup opener

Germany's Serge Gnabry, centre, leaves the field as Japanese players celebrate after winning the World Cup group E soccer match against Germany. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Another day, another upset at the 2022 World Cup.

A little over 24 hours after Saudi Arabia completed a shocking comeback against Lionel Messi and Argentina, Japan overcame a one-goal deficit of their own to defeat 2014 World Cup champion Germany in Group E action on Wednesday.

Substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored late goals to give Japan the come-from-behind 2-1 victory, leaving Germany eyeing a rebound when it takes on Spain over the weekend.

At the 2018 World Cup, Germany dropped its opener against Mexico in a 1-0 shutout loss. The Germans would eventually go 1-0-2 in the Group Stage, which was not enough to advance to the Round of 16.

Here’s a glimpse at how the sports world reacted to the upset.

More from Sportsnet
Another stunner: Japan beats Germany with second-half comeback at World Cup
Morocco holds Croatia to scoreless draw in Group F opener

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.