Had to agree again with Luis Enrique. Costa Rica yes fought Japanese. And won. He knew his limits, he played his cards and shouting “yes we can” he managed to defeat the Japanese thanks to a goal from More complete at the end leaving Spain’s group completely open. Furthermore, if the Reds win, they are still not mathematically classified, although they will be virtually because the Japanese will need to thrash in the final game.
A result that also gives more credit to what Luis Enrique’s men achieved on his debut. The match was rough, tasteless. And Costa Ricans are ex officio before the disciplined -perhaps too many- Asians. In fact, both teams went into the break without a single shot on goal, or clear chances. Neither one nor the other. The position taken by Costa Rica, which unlike the premiere, played with a defense of five, was surprising. The Ticos, who showed only two changes compared to the humiliating defeat against Spain, will surely win, but they are holding back, waiting for a few chances to come in the second half. In the first half, Campbell was the only one with a shot from the front, in the 35th minute, which went into the clouds.
Japan, for its part, proved tactically ordered, physically prepared, but again fell short, especially in the final meters. It is hard to believe how a rival with so many impressions could defeat Germany. But they earned the right to rely on themselves to get through to the round of 16 on the second day. And they failed on the first try.
In fact, a point would have cost them to qualify if Spain had managed to beat Germany. Maybe that’s why Moriyasu booked some important players. Tanaka, Take Kubo, Ito and Maeda, starters against the Germans, started on the bench. Japan clearly gambled on the result and ended up paying dearly for it.
Asians are always proactive. When they come back from break they are a little more rude. Morita dazzled Navas with a left foot shot and Soma missed two free kicks in front. Costa Rica knew how to suffer and got oil from the only occasion, from their only shot between the three sticks so far in the World Cup. Japan didn’t know how to clear the ball, which reached Fuller in front. The Costa Rican looked for the squad, held Gonda, but the ball went in unleashing the Central American madness.
Japan rushes and the Ticos shoot ex officio the score in favor. The Japanese had a tie before extra time but the Ticos’ most decisive player emerged. Keylor Navas saved a point-blank shot from Kamada. An action celebrated as a goal.
DATA SHEET
0 – Japan: Gonda; Yamane (Mitoma, 61′), Itakura, Yoshida, Morita, Doan (J.Ito, 67′), Nagatomo (Ito, 46′), Endo, Kamada, Ueda (Asano, 46′), Soma (Minamino, 82′ ).
1 – Costa Rica: Kaylor Navas; Bryan Oviedo, Calvo, Duarte, Waston, Fuller, Gerson Torres (Aguilera, 65′), Tejeda, Celso Borges (Salas, 88′), Joel Campbell (Chacón, 95′), A. Contreras (Bennette, 65′).
Purpose: 1-0, Fuller (81′)
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG). He advised A. Contreras (41′), Borges (61′), Calvo, (70′) from Costa Rica and Yamane (44′), Itakura (84′), Endo (94′), from Japan.
Spectators: 41,479 to Ahmad bin Ali
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
