Costa Rica beat Japan 1-0 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium thanks to a Keysher Fuller goal in the 81st minute that left World Cup Group E qualification open.
The killing giants of Japan, who stunned Germany in the first round, barely gained a foothold in the game and were left to ruin their chances of qualifying for the round of 16.
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Costa Rica recovers
Costa Rica, which lost 7-0 to Spain in its first game, kept its chances alive with a minimal win.
Neither team was able to gain a foothold in the first half and it was a cautious occasion with no shots on goal. Japan, however, came out stronger of the two teams with their pressing game and tested rival goalkeeper Keylor Navas through Hidemasa Morita that the Paris St Germain keeper deflected.
The Asian team looked more threatening to score but fell short in the final third.
However, it was Costa Rica who took advantage of a rare defensive error on the edge of the box when Fuller’s effort beat the outstretched arms of Shuichi Gonda in the Japanese goal.
This was, by the way, the first shot on goal of the South American team in the World Cup. The referee waved away a late handball cry from Japan as they plummeted to improbable defeat and now must get a result against Spain in their last group game to qualify for the round of 16.
Japanese reaction to defeat
Despite the defeat, the Japanese head coach Hajime Moriyasu seemed confident in his team’s chances: “We are going for the win. We have beaten Germany but that does not mean that we can beat Spain. Those countries are World Cup champions, so we have a lot of respect for them. But we won a game against Germany. Spain will be tough, but there is a good chance that we will win. So we will prepare and with confidence we will go to the next game”.
He continued: “Spain will be a very intense match. We just need to up the odds for Japan. This is how I decided the tactics [for today]. The result didn’t work out, but we tried and I think this is what Japan needed.”
Spain will play Germany later today in the other match of the second round of this group.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/Sipa USA
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