On the evening of the 27th, Beijing time, the second round of the Qatar World Cup Group E was the first match, and the Japanese team ushered in a direct dialogue with Costa Rica, and finally the Japanese team lost 0-1 in the case of rotating 5 main players, suffering the first defeat of this World Cup. After the defeat, Japan's group qualification situation is already somewhat dangerous.
Fuller scored the only goal of the game
The first-round comeback against Germany put much less pressure on Japan to face Costa Rica in the second round, but even so, coach Hoichi Mori's five-man rotation in the starting line-up was unexpected. The five main players Hiroki Sakai, Kenhide Kubo, Bibi Tanaka, Junya Ito and Dairan Maeda were not on the bench, while Yamane Hisaka, Don Yasuru, Hidemasa Morita, Yuki Soma and Kiyo Ueda entered the starting lineup. 'The next game is going to be very difficult and brutal, we have to use all the strength we can, and the goal is to break through from the group stage. This was Morihoichi's statement before the war.
Prior to this match, Japan and Costa Rica have played four times in international A competitions, with Japan winning 3 and drawing 1. The last time Japan played Costa Rica under Morihoichi was in September 2018, when Japan won 3-0.
Costa Rica got into play faster after the start of the game, scoring several free kick chances in a row, but none of them turned into threatening shots. The Japanese then led several attacks by Daichi Kamata, but each time they had problems with the final pass. There is a clear gap between Kamada's form and his previous spell with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
After the rematch, Japan made the first substitution, Asano Takuma and Ito Yoki came on, and they immediately completed three consecutive attacks and formed shots, but Costa Rica defender and goalkeeper Keylor Navas both played well to keep the goal. In the 62nd minute, Japan made another adjustment, and striker Kaoru Mikasa, who played for Brighton, came on, and Morihoichi removed the starting right-back Yamane to continue to strengthen the attack. Just four minutes later, Japan made a substitution, this time with their attacking winger Junya Ito.
However, this operation did not usher in the goal, but was scored by Costa Rica before the end of the game, and full-back Fuller took advantage of Japan's mistake by Hidemasa Morita to rub a left-footed shot in the box. Although the Japanese team eventually adjusted their personnel again and replaced them with striker Takumi Minamino to no to avail, they paid a heavy price for the carelessness and underestimation of the enemy in this game.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Zhang Kunlong
Editor/Xu Zhao