Japan 0-1 Costa Rica highlights, FIFA World Cup: Fuller goal guides Costa Rica to first win against Japan
Highlights of the Japan vs Costa Rica Group E match from the Ahmed bin Ali (Al-Rayyan) Stadium.
Updated : Nov 27, 2022 17:53 IST
Keysher Fuller of Costa Rica celebrates after scoring their team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Japan and Costa Rica at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 27, 2022, in Doha, Qatar. | Photo Credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images
Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the Japan vs Costa Rica Group E match from the Ahmed bin Ali (Al-Rayyan) Stadium.
After a 7-0 loss to Spain in their opening match, Costa Rica make a statement by clinching a 1-0 win against Japan
Costa Rica sub: IN- Chacon OUT- Campbell
Booking: Japan’s Endo becomes the latest player to see yellow.
Mitoma with a low cross again from the left but this time, the ball does not reach a Japanese shirt. Costa Rica defending with all its might.
Six minutes added at the end of the second-half!!
Costa Rica sub: IN - Salas OUT- Borges
Save- Mitoma does well to muscle his way past his marker. He squares the ball to the middle of the box and Asano gets to the end of the cross. He shoots first-time but Navas makes a brilliant save. There was a chance from the rebound but Navas recovers well and collects the ball.
Booking: Japan’s Itakura sees a yellow card.
Japan sub: IN- Minamino OUT- Soma
GOOOALLL!! COSTA RICA SCORES!! FULLER FINDS THE NET!! Japan loses the ball near its box and Tejeda gets the ball. He passes the ball to Fuller. Fuller cuts in and goes for the far-corner with a curler. The shot takes a deflection and loops over Gonda inside the net. Gonda did get a touch but not enough to keep the ball out of the net.
Costa Rica counter-attack after Japan loses possession but it ends after the assistant referee raises his flag for offside.
Itto with a measured cross inside the box, trying to find Kamada but the ball is too high for him as Costa Rica sends the ball out for a corner.
Campbell delivers a cross from a Costa Rica freekick but cannot find a teammate with his cross.
Kamada goes for a shot from the freekick but hits the wall.
Booking: Calvo sees a yellow for the challenge and will miss Costa Rica’s game against Germany.
Inches away from a penalty- Asano is fouled by Calvo right at the edge of the penalty box.
Japan is hounding Costa Rica with its incessant pressing. Costa Rica not being able to get out of its own half. Worrying signs for Luis Fernando Suárez and his men.
Japan sub: IN- Ito OUT- Doan
Costa Rica sub: IN- Bennette, Aguilera OUT- Contreras, Torres
Soma hits the freekick with great pace but cannot keep his shot on target.
Japan sub: IN- Mitoma OUT- Yamane
Booking: Borges sees a yellow card for that challenge
The Costa Rican defence has been under the cosh right from the start of the second half. Now, Borges has fouled Endo and Japan has a freekick in a dangerous position.
A mispass at the back almost allowed Asano to pounce on the loose ball, but Navas, sensing the danger, came off his line and cleared the ball before Asano could get a touch.
Soma cuts in and tries to bend it in the far-corner, but he cannot keep his shot on target as the ball blazes over the bar.
Greater urgency by Japan since the restart. A win would all but assure the Asian side of a spot in the knockouts. Meanwhile, Minamino is warming up on the sidelines.
Costa Rica survives a Japanese onslaught and brings the ball back upfield. But it isn’t long before Japan regains possession and gets back into the attack.
Asano and Itto have a quick impact First Asano has a header towards goal while Itto’s shot is blocked. Costa Rica under pressure early in the second-half.
Japan makes a fast start in the second-half as Navas makes an early save to concede a corner. Asano having an immediate impact as his pass led to the shot at goal.
Japan subs: IN- Itto, Asano OUT- Ueda, Nagamoto
Itto and Asano come on half-time substitutes
The second-half between Japan and Costa Rica kicks-off
The match is goalless at the break. Not the most exciting half of football.
One added minute at the end of the first-half!!
Booking: Japan’s Yamane sees yellow for his challenge on Joel Campbell.
Booking: Costa Rica’s Contreras becomes the first player to see a yellow card in the match.
Calvo’s shot is blocked outside the box. The ball falls to Campbell who goes for a curling effort but misses his target by quite some distance.
Japan keeper Gonda has had the fewest touches out of any player so far (3)
There hasn’t been any substantial threat posed by either team till now. Japan looks better team but Costa Rica not sitting back.
Oviedo with a cheeky pass in an attempt to find Contreras inside the box, but sees his pass cut out.
Nagatoma uses an outside-of-the-boot pass to find Soma on the left flank but cannot control the power of the pass. Soma chases it but cannot keep the ball from going out of play.
Campbell loses possession that prompts a counter-attack by Japan, but Calvo does well to stay alert and intercepts the pass that thwarts the attack.
Yamane, on the overlap, attempts to cross the ball inside the box from the right, but cannot keep it in play.
Doan flashes a cross across the face of the goal from the right but there was no Japanese player to attack the ball. Even the slightest of touches could have resulted in Japan’s first goal in the match.
Borges tries to find Torres with a lofted through ball but the pass is too heavy, which allows Gonda to come out and collect the ball.
The left flank seems to be Japan’s route of choice till now. Costa Rica right-back Fuller has been a busy player in the early minutes of the first half.
Costa Rica’s Borges delivers inside the box from a freekick this time but it is a disappointing ball yet again as Gonda collects the ball easily.
Campbell delivers a cross inside the Japan box from a freekick but cannot find a Costa Rican shirt. Japan clears its lines.
Snappy passing from Japan in their final third - Ritsu Doan ends the attack by shooting at goal from distance but slices the shot wide.
Costa Rica on the backfoot right from the opening minute as Japan’s attack pressurizes the Costa Ricans to concede a corner.
AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!! The Group E match between Japan vs Costa Rica kicks-off at the Ahmed bin Ali (Al-Rayyan) stadium.
Japan vs Costa Rica Head-to-Head record
Japan- 4
Costa Rica- 0
Draws- 1
A heavy defeat!!
Starting Lineups!!
Match Preview
Few would have given Japan much chance of getting out of a group that included Germany and Spain when the World Cup draw was made but a win over Costa Rica on Sunday would leave Hajime Moriyasu’s side on the brink of the last 16.
The Japanese came from behind to beat four-times champion Germany on Wednesday and will face a Costa Rica side reeling from its 7-0 thrashing by Spain in its Group E opener.
For Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez, rebuilding his side’s shattered confidence is the priority.
“I’m worried that mentally the team won’t get out of this slump, this bad result,” he said after the defeat. “Logically, that’s the first thing I have to try to solve.
“We have to take responsibility for what happened, but once we all talk about it, we need to forget about it.”
To help him lift the side, the coach will turn to the few veterans from its 2014 campaign when it reached the quarterfinals after topping a group that also featured England, Italy and Uruguay.
Things look much more promising for Japan, which produced the second major shock of the 2022 World Cup so far with its 2-1 comeback win over Germany.
The Japanese were helped by six Bundesliga players and one more playing in Germany’s second tier, as strikes from Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan and VfL Bochum’s Takuma Asano gave the Asian side their first-ever win over Germany.
Costa Rica, which suffered its heaviest-ever defeat at the World Cup finals, is unlikely to provide as stiff a test as the Germans.
Spain lies in wait for Japan in its final group game, but Moriyasu knows Sunday’s result may mean there is little riding on it.
-Reuters
Japan vs Costa Rica Predicted XI
When will the Japan vs Costa Rica match kick-off?
The Japan vs Costa Rica match will kick-off at 3:30 PM IST, November 27.
Where will the Japan vs Costa Rica match kick-off?
The Japan vs Costa Rica match will kick-off at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium
Where can you watch the Japan vs Costa Rica match in India?
The Japan vs Costa Rica match will be telecasted live on Sports18 and Sports18 HD. On Android and well as iOS, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be live streamed on JioCinema.