The destructive Central Americans duped their opponents who had failed to start on Sunday. Keysher Fuller (81′) converted Costa Rica’s first ever scoring opportunity at the World Cup (81′) and ensured that his country was still in the mix despite the 7-0 defeat by Spain before the last group game.
Japan, who conquered Germany, failed to turn their good starting position into an excellent one. The victory of the underdog, who won a World Cup for the first time in eight years, puts Germany in the cards ahead of the hit of the night against Spain (8 p.m. / live ORF 1). Even with a defeat, the elimination of the 2014 world champion would not be certain.
From the Japanese point of view, it was not a game of missed chances, because there were simply not many opportunities. Disbelieving shakes of the head were still the order of the day. Costa Rica rarely got into the opposing half at all.
The game started extremely slowly. Japan lacked brilliant ideas against limited “Ticos”, which were primarily concerned with preventing another launch. The destructive approach worked exceptionally well at the expense of attractiveness in the first half. For Japan, the question arose at the break as to whether team boss Hajime Moriyasu hadn’t overdone it with his surprising 5-man rotation.
Moriyasu seemed reasonable and made two substitutions. A few seconds after the restart, Hidemasa Morita tested Costa Rica star goalie Keylor Navas, who cleared the shot to the side (46′). After five minutes in the second half, the Asians had more goal threat than broadcast 45 minutes before.
The 41,479 spectators at Al Rayyan’s Ahmed bin Ali Stadium didn’t see any great chances, however, because the Central Americans increasingly positioned their four-man midfield as a second line of defense in front of the five-man defence. Junya Ito made a promising effort in the 70th minute, but Francisco Calvo saved his team from the impending 0-1 with a yellow foul centimeters from the penalty area. The free kick that followed brought nothing.
What seemed unimaginable for a long time happened: Morita lost the ball with serious consequences, Yeltsin Tejede served Fuller, who defeated the idle Shuichi Gonda with a shot that seemed sustainable. It was the decision because Navas held on to the 1-0 in the hectic final urge phase of the Japanese.
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Source: Nachrichten
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
