Daizen Maeda has the ball in the net - but it is ruled out for offside!

It was a rapid counter-attack by Japan after they won the ball in midfield.

Junya Ito then put a dangerous ball across for Maeda to tap home, but he had just edged ahead of the last defender.

Let off for Germany.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Sutton
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

The Germans have set up as a 4-2-3-1. They're better going forward than defensively, I think it's fair to say. Up top, Havertz is the central striker, Muller just in behind him with Musiala off that left hand side and Gnabry off the right hand side.

It has been a bright start by Germany as Serge Gnabry attempts to weave his way through the entire Japanese defence, but an outstretched boot just about gets the ball clear.

Chris Sutton
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

The Germany front four will be very fluid. They've started with Havertz as the central striker.

There's a cracking atmosphere at the Khalifa International Stadium as Germany get the game under way.

Pablo Zabaleta
Ex- Man City and Argentina defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

The other teams in this group have to be worried about Japan. They are very experienced as a team and the mix of experience and talent will make them a very strong team in this World Cup.

(that's the Japanese equivalent of cheers by the way)

Image source, Getty Images

Pablo Zabaleta
Ex- Man City and Argentina defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think Jamal Musiala is a great player, he is one of those players you really enjoy watching. He's absolutely brilliant, he has great potential and I'm happy to see that Flick has given a chance to play in the national team and a place in the starting 11.

He is one of those players who is so good on the ball, he can dribble past players, he can produce a moment of magic in the final third and sometimes for that, you also need players around you who can combine. Serge Gnabry is one of them, they have been playing at Bayern Munich together for a few years now and they can produce those moments in the game.

It has been a public holiday in Japan today, with kick-off at 10pm local time.

The bars in Tokyo are probably bouncing right now.

Here come the teams...

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Bysouth
BBC Sport

Japanese football lured stars like Gary Lineker and Zico when the J-League was formed in 1993, modelled its marketing on US sports and imported much of its fan culture - tifos, flags, chants, (relatively friendly) ultras and mascots, all embraced by crowds boasting a large female following and sprinkled with a local twist to make attending games a unique experience.

Three decades into its existence, and emerging from Covid-imposed restrictions on crowds and singing in stadiums, the nation's top flight is thriving in its own right. Average attendances peaked at more than 20,000 before the pandemic and it is halfway through a 12-year $2.1bn (£1.76bn) domestic broadcasting deal with DAZN.

But while the terraces may be flooded with traditions that originated around the world, a stream of the country's top talent is heading the other way.

Read more on how the cream of Japan's footballing talent are heading to Europe.

Image source, Getty Images

The OneLove armband row is not going away.

The German football federation is challenging whether it is legal for Fifa to sanction players wearing the OneLove armband at the World Cup.

The captains of seven European nations had planned to wear the armband to promote diversity and inclusion. But the plans were dropped following Fifa's threat of players being booked.

"Fifa has forbidden us from using a symbol of diversity and human rights," said DFB media director Steffen Simon.

"They combined this with massive threats of sporting sanctions without specifying them. "The DFB is checking whether this action by Fifa was legal."

For more on this story head over here.

Image source, Getty Images

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Khalifa International Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

The PA system is pumping out the tunes and the players are on the pitch in the warm-up.

It's 27C here in Doha - shorts and t-shirt weather - but the players will be grateful the pitch is entirely in the shade, aided by the cooling technology around the turf.

Archie Rhind-Tutt
Football journalist on BBC Radio 5 Live

Oh how he is delivering in Champions League games for Bayern. Jamal Musiala is my favourite players to watch in the Bundesliga right now. Just the way that he dribbles past players for fun in one on one situations when there are players all around him and you think there is no chance of him getting through here. He's exactly the kind of player that makes football fun.

The next step for him, because he's been doing it in the Bundesliga so far this season, he's been the best player in the league. The next step is to do it in a side which is not as well oiled as Bayern and playing in a tournament where the competition is much more of a level playing field than the Bundesliga.

I think this is a real chance for him to announce his arrival on a big stage and to see if he can drag this team where, it's not really worked out for Germany going forwards recently. I'd say this is a real chance for him to solidify his reputation .

There's been talk in the German press that he is just unsellable at Bayern to the point where even 400 million euros would not be enough for Jamal Musiala. This is the way he is being talked about, he is the future of this club. There are so many things to his game that make him so good. Even when opponents try and cut him down like we have seen with Lionel Messi over the years, he doesn't quit. He's really quite something.

Image source, Getty Images

Japan will have decent knowledge of today's opponents as eight of their players are based in the German Bundesliga including former Southampton defender Maya Yoshida, who now plays for Schalke.

Fans of the Premier League will also recognise Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal and Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma.

They reached the last-16 in Russia before losing agonisingly to Belgium courtesy of a 94th-minute winner by Nacer Chadli.

Heartbreak.

Image source, Getty Images

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport at Khalifa International Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

There's some great hats on show by the Japanese fans around the stadium.

Most of the Germans have come in face paint but it seems accessories are the 'thing' for Japan's supporters.

It's a great atmosphere around the Khalifa International Stadium. Both of these nations have experienced hosting a World Cup - Japan co-hosted with South Korea in 2002, before it was Germany''s turn in 2006.

Today's opening match did not quite have as much drama as yesterday's game between Saudi Arabia and Argentina, with 2018 runners-up Croatia opening their campaign with a battling goalless draw against Morocco.

Click on the video above for the highlights. Or if you prefer a written match report you can find that here.

A great atmosphere on the metro in Qatar as fans make their way to the Khalifa International Stadium.

This will be Japan's seventh consecutive World Cup appearance, a streak stretching back to their debut appearance in the competition at France 98.

It is the second-longest run of consecutive participations by an Asian nation behind South Korea's current run of 10 tournaments (including 2022).

They have reached the last-16 three times, including when they co-hosted the tournament in 2002, but have never done so at successive tournaments.

Image source, Getty Images

Germany are no strangers to tournament success. Not only have they won the World Cup four times (as both Germany and West Germany) they have also been runners-up four times. They have also won the European Championship three times and been runners-up three times.

But they head to Qatar with with something of a point to prove after finishing bottom of their group in Russia four years ago - their earliest World Cup exit in more than 80 years - before losing to England in the last-16 at Euro 2020.

Remember that Thomas Muller miss?

Image source, Getty Images

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Khalifa International Stadium

The metro was buzzing with Germany and Japan fans, packing into the carriages as they made their way to Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

I grabbed a quick chat with Take and his friend who have travelled over from Japan for six days.

"I'll go for a 2-1 Japan win," he says, without any real conviction. "The gap between the Asian teams and European is getting bigger and bigger."

Take says he was at the World Cup in Brazil eight years ago, where he "did not feel safe" travelling around.

But it has been the opposite here in Qatar: "It is totally different. You don't have to worry about your bags on the metro or anywhere, nobody is going to touch them. You can walk around anywhere and it is fine."