Spain and Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal has revealed what club teammate Antonio Rudiger told him after Germany's 1-1 draw with La Roja at the FIFA World Cup.
Spain and Die Mannschaft played out a well-fought 1-1 draw in their second group-stage game of the FIFA World Cup. Alvaro Morata opened the scoring in the 62nd minute of the match, which was canceled out by Niclas Fullkrug's strike with seven minutes of regulation time left.
Carvajal, speaking to the media after the match, highlighted how Germany ramped up the pressure later in the match, which made things difficult for them. He said:
"I would say it's a pretty fair draw. On the level of the game, the two teams proposed ideas. The first period was very tight. And afterwards, the Germans saw themselves eliminated when we passed by.
"So they risked more, they made changes and they put more people in attack. Which complicated things for us."
He then went on to reveal what Real Madrid teammate Rudiger told him after the match finished in a draw.
"Rudiger asked me to win against Japan. But no one doubts that we will win this match, we want to finish first and win all the matches, and we will do everything for it," Carvajal added.
What Germany need to do to qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The 1-1 draw with Germany cemented Spain's spot at the top of FIFA World Cup's Group E with four points after two matches. Japan and Costa Rica are second and third, respectively, with three points each, while Die Mannschaft are last with one point.
The 2014 World Cup champions will need to win their last match against Costa Rica and hope Spain beat Japan to qualify for the next round.
Germany can qualify with a win over Costa Rica even if the Spain vs Japan match ends in a draw. They will, however, have to beat the central American side by at least two goals to better Japan's goal difference.
Things are set up interestingly in Group E as we approach the final set of group-stage matches at the FIFA World Cup.