Jenny Hill
BBC News Europe correspondent in Germany

It was a game that "the team should never have lost", according to one commentator in Germany.

There's a sense of dejection here after what was a surprising defeat to Japan.

"We’re all brutally disappointed," the German manager Hansi Flick said after the match, summing up the national mood.

But, from the outset, this World Cup has engendered far less excitement than you might usually expect from one of the world’s great footballing nations.

Image source, Reuters

Even before the first whistle, opinion polls had suggested that many Germans didn’t plan to watch the tournament - largely due to concerns about the human rights of migrant workers in Qatar.

The OneLove armband debacle has only served to deepen reservations about this World Cup.

Column inches devoted to analysis of the loss against Japan are equally weighted by those debating whether the national side’s gesture of defiance - the team posed with hands over their mouths for the team photo - was a sufficiently significant moral stance.

If you missed the game then don't worry, I've got you covered ...

Image source, Getty Images

Germany manager Hansi Flick has said his side must improve after their shock opening game defeat.

The Germans took the lead in the first half through an Ilkay Gundogan penalty but were pegged back by second-half efforts from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Flick said: "We did not do some things right in terms of tactics and we need to improve that.

"In football it is like that. You have to deliver your best performance. The criticism is justified."

Germany now face Spain on Sunday (19:00 GMT), who thrashed Costa Rica 7-0 in their opener on Wednesday.

"We have no free shots any more, we wasted the first one," said Flick.

"We now need to work on things and improve them. Now we will go forward and we need to show character to maintain the chance in our last group game."

Let's start with some reaction to Germany's shock 2-1 defeat to Japan yesterday.

The four-time winners dominated a frenetic match for large spells but failed to capitalise on their pressure - before Japan caused the Khalifa International Stadium to erupt into a mix of celebration and surprise.

And we're back, who's ready for some more World Cup talk?

We're going to take a short break now but we'll be back at 13:00 (GMT), with the build-up to Rob Page and Gareth Bale's press conference.

We'll also take a look at some reaction to Germany's shock defeat to Japan yesterday.

Oh and we'll also have the latest from the England camp, as Gareth Southgate and Harry Maguire face the media at 16:00 GMT.

For now though, I'll leave you with some lunchtime reading:

• Embolo gives Switzerland an opening win against Cameroon, external
• Wales take LGBTQ+ rights stand with rainbow flags, external
• Is this World Cup Neymar's last chance to lead Brazil to victory?, external

See you soon!

Switzerland forward Breel Embolo fired his side into the lead against Cameroon, the country of his birth, in the World Cup Group G opener.

The 1-0 victory over Cameroon means Switzerland are unbeaten in their last six World Cup opening games (W3 D3).

They were last defeated in their opening match back in 1966 against Germany.

BBC pundit and former England defender Micah Richards answers your questions including which pundit can lift the most weight, which young World Cup star will shine brightest, and why music videos are off the table these days.

Image source, BBC Sport

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton is predicting the outcome of all 64 games at the Fifa World Cup 2022.

This is an extremely open group and I changed my mind a couple of times about who would go through.

Uruguay's ageing frontline of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani counts against them, but South Korea lack a cutting edge too despite being able to control games through their possession.

We don't know if Son Heung-min is able to start this game against Uruguay, but his form for Spurs was patchy this season even before he fractured his eye socket.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Image source, Getty Images

Son Heung-min is fit for South Korea's World Cup opener against Uruguay on Thursday, despite wearing a mask after facial surgery.

The Tottenham forward - South Korea's captain - had an operation earlier this month after suffering fractures around his left eye in a collision during a Champions League match.

The 30-year-old has been training in Qatar in a mask.

"Son can play and will be able to play," said coach Paulo Bento.

Son has scored 35 goals in 104 appearances for South Korea.

"The fact he will be wearing a mask is not inconvenient for him, it is natural for him," added Bento.

"We will see tomorrow how it will be. Our hope is that he will feel comfortable as far as possible. He knows, and we know, that after this injury we cannot take any risks."

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

There is a good atmosphere building at Education City in Doha as Uruguay and South Korea prepare for their World Cup opener.

Plenty of colourful costumes and music around the stadium.

Earlier on we brought you the news that Harry Kane is fine and will be available for tomorrow's game against the USA.

The England captain has scored 51 goals in 76 appearances for the Three Lions, two behind Wayne Rooney's record of 53.

Here's a glimpse of him in training today ...

Image source, gett

Luke Shaw says he has "no doubt" that Jude Bellingham "is going to be an important player" for England in the coming weeks.

Speaking to BBC TV about the 19-year-old midfielder, he said: "He is unbelievable. From when I first saw him to now, the footballing ability has always been there but he has gone from a boy to a man now, he is growing in himself.

"He has got everything a top quality midfielder needs and I have no doubt he is going to be a very, very important player for England in this tournament and for the future of English football.

"He is going to be a big part of it all.

"He has been involved in professional football from a very early age, you learn how to act and he is very mature, very confident.

"But he needs that confidence because he has all the ability in the world to be able to perform at a high level on the pitch. He needs that confidence."

Image source, Getty Images

Qatar manager Felix Sanchez said his side can improve following their opening day defeat to Ecuador.

Enner Valencia's two first half goals were enough for Ecuador to win, in a match where Qatar failed to register a shot on target.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Sanchez said: "The last match did not go as we planned. We can perform better than we did.

"We hope that now we are free from all the pressure that we had in the opening match.

"I hope we can compete and bring our 'A Game' and show that we can be more competitive than we were the other day."

Qatar face Senegal on Friday (13:00 GMT), knowing a defeat would see them exit their home World Cup with a game remaining.

Sanchez said: "I will take on the pressure and the criticism from fans. We've analysed our errors and we are prepared for the game.

"We know how strong Senegal is, and we will try our best to control the game."

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales in Doha

Wales' most impressive player in their opening draw with USA was arguably striker Kieffer Moore, who came on at half-time and changed the game.

Wales were fortunate only to be trailing 1-0 at the break but they were transformed after the introduction of the Bournemouth striker.

Now the question is: will Moore start against Iran tomorrow?

If he does, a first World Cup start would cap a remarkable rise for the man who was working as a lifeguard less than a decade ago.

Image source, Getty Images

England captain Harry Kane is taking part in full training ahead of tomorrow’s second group game against the USA.Defender Harry Maguire is also training after illness.Leicester’s James Maddison was the only player out of Gareth Southgate’s squad of 26, not to take part in training.

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales in Doha

When Wales manager Robert Page faces the media later, he's bound to be asked about the fitness of Joe Allen.

The Swansea City midfielder hasn't played since September because of a hamstring injury but there was some good news yesterday as he returned to full training.

Having trained alone since Wales arrived in Qatar, Allen joined the rest of the squad for yesterday's session.

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Howell
BBC Sport in Qatar

Image source, BBC Sport

All eyes will be on training and Harry Kane.

It will be interesting to see if he joins in with the rest of the group.

Gareth Southgate says he’s fit but let’s see if they take any precautions with the captain.

Image source, BBC Sport

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton is predicting the outcome of all 64 games at the Fifa World Cup 2022.

Serbia don't have that much strength in depth in their squad but they have got so many talented players in their strongest XI, and at set-pieces they will be a big danger.

They might give Brazil a scare or two here, although I am not expecting any surprises with the end result.

Brazil are in excellent form, and have only lost one of their past 29 games - the 2021 Copa America final against Argentina.

Neymar is the best diver at this World Cup but he is scoring lots of goals too - and we will probably see him do a bit of both over the next few weeks.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1