Japan began its FIFA 2022 journey with one of the biggest upsets in world cup history by defeating four-times world champions Germany in their opening match. Oozing confidence after one of their biggest victories, the Japanese faced off against Costa Rica, who had lost their previous match 0-7 against Spain. However, the unexpected happened as the Costa Ricans scored an upset 1-0 victory over the Asian giants in Match 26 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at Ar Rayyan Stadium.
Japan begins the game with some early dominance as Soma tries to send a ball into the Costa Rican box, but Duarte does well to tackle him deeply. Costa Rica is trying to gain some control and pass the ball around. At 19 minutes, Kamada makes a desperate attempt to score from inside the Costa Rican box but misses the target. Further, into the 25 minutes, both teams begin to drop their momentum, with Japan shifting to high-energy mode.
35 minutes into the first half, Costa Rica came close to scoring the opening goal when Francisco Calvo’s first shot at the goal got blocked just outside the box, which was collected by Joel Campbell 20 yards off the Japanese goal, who curled it just over the crossbar. Just before the end of the first half, Miki Yamane was booked for a late tackle from behind on Campbell in the 44th minute. 2 minutes of extra time were added, which passed by without any significant action as the first half ended goalless for both sides.
The play in the second half turned a bit aggressive as we witnessed a series of fouls committed by both teams. One came in the 61st minute when Borges got slapped with a yellow card after bringing down Endo on the edge of Costa Rica’s box. Another foul in the 70th minute saw Takuma Asano try to surge in from the edge of the Costa Rican box when he got suddenly pulled down by the arm by defender Calvo. The latter is issued a Yellow card for his move.
Japan tried to create an opportunity in the 76th minute as Soma sent in a cross from the right side of the Costa Rican box, but it overshot everyone in between. The shot was poorly executed and could’ve been a promising opportunity for Japan. The time goes past 80 minutes as the first goal of the match is scored. Yeltsin Tejeda sends in a cross from the edge of the Japanese box to Kyle Fuller, who curls it past Gonda’s outstretched attempt to stop the shot. A much-needed goal toward the end of the second half has put Japan under huge pressure.
The match carries on as the timer approaches 90 minutes. 7 minutes of extra time are added by the referee and Japan is now desperately looking for an equalizer. However, Costa Rica held their ground and denied Asians an opportunity to score. The referee calls for the end, as Costa Rica pulls off a fighting 1-0 win over Japan.
After losing to Spain 0-7 in their opening match, Costa Rica turned things around by defeating Japan 1-0 in their Group E FIFA World Cup 2022 match. After the victory, Costa Rica passed Germany to take third position in Group E. Spain currently holds the top position, followed by Japan.
Stay tuned with 90agency as we keep bringing you everything you need to know about every match of the FIFA World Cup 2022. All the latest highlights and updates at one place!