The Match’s highlight: Japan plays Costa Rica in Group B on Sunday, with the Asian side hoping to book their place in the last 16. Hajime Moriyasu’s team earned a famous win against Germany in the first game of their tournament, while South America was thrashed 7-0 by Spain. (Sun, Nov 27, 2022, 16:00) Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Qatar. Ref: Michael Oliver.
Japan has never lost a game in the history of international soccer, including its most recent match against Costa Rica. Costa Rica had 6 victories in their previous score against an Asian nation, defeating China 3-2 in the 2002 World Cup.
Japan has yet to win back-to-back games at the World Cup. The best chance for that to happen would be with a victory over Tunisia, a victory over Russia, and then finishing group plays with a win against France.
Here are the Highlights of the Japan vs Costa Rica World Cup Match.
FULL TIME: Japan 0-1 Costa Rica
Key Moments:
81 Minutes of 2nd half: Fuller scored for Costa Rica
| Japan | Costa Rica | |
| Winner/Loser | Lost | Won |
| Goal | 0 | 1 |
| Assists | Yeltsin Ignacio | |
| Ball Possession | 56% | 44% |
| Big Chances | 0 | 0 |
| Passes | 568 | 440 |
| Accurate Passes | 499(87%) | 364(80%) |
| Total Shots (On Target) | 3 | 1 |
| Foul | 22 | 9 |
| Yellow Card | 3 | 3 |
| Red Card | 0 | 0 |
| Offside | 0 | 2 |
| Corner | 5 | 0 |
| Keeper Saves | 0 | 3 |
| Player Of The Match | Keysher Fuller |
Point table of Group (E) after this match
| Team | Play | Goal Difference | Points |
| Japan | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Spain | 1 | +7 | 3 |
| Costa Rica | 2 | -6 | 3 |
| Germany | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Three of Japan’s five goals at the World Cup have been scored by substitutes, and two of those came within six minutes of the player coming on.
Five of their seven sub-goals have come in the final six minutes, with Ritsu Doan equalizing their most recent match against Germany after just six minutes.
What happened in the opening fixtures of these two teams’ World Cup campaigns? Today, both Japan and Costa Rica failed to live up to expectations – playing lackluster soccer before waning under the weight of their conditions. On the other hand, Argentina struggled with a lack of intensity – even though they kept Costa Rica off the scoreboard at halftime.
The desperation may not be there to qualify for Russia next year, but some changes in personnel and strategy ought to take place after 15 minutes. So the Final Score is Costa Rica 1-0 Japan.
