On Sunday at the World Cup, Costa Rica upset Japan 1-0 courtesy of a late goal, completely dismantling Group E and providing Germany with a possible lifeline.
With a victory, Japan, who stunned four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their opening match in Qatar, may have made significant progress toward the round of 16.
Instead, they struggled for long stretches of the game against a Costa Rican team that had been destroyed 7-0 by Spain. Defender Keysher Fuller then scored with a deflected shot in the 81st minute. It was Costa Rica’s first shot on goal at this World Cup, and the Germans stand to gain significantly from it.
Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica now have a combined score of three points. In a later game on Sunday, Spain will play Germany. Hajime Moriyasu, Japan’s coach, utilized every player on his 26-man roster, making five changes from the team that stunned Germany in their opening encounter.
At Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, where it was 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), Japan launched a quick offensive and earned a corner within 30 seconds to declare their intentions.
Coach Luis Fernando Suarez of Costa Rica had avoided making significant adjustments to the team that had been humiliated by Spain, benching defender Carlos Martinez and young winger Jewison Bennette.
Four players from the World Cup quarterfinals of 2014 were included in an aging starting lineup, including Gerson Torres and 34-year-old center-back Kendall Waston.
However, Japan’s early promise faded in the heat of Doha, and it took 10 minutes before halftime for Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell, 30, to get on target with a meek attempt that flew high and wide.
“Los Ticos” enjoyed greater possession of the ball as the first half came to a conclusion, but neither team managed to get off a shot on goal.
Takuma Asano, a striker who plays in the Bundesliga and scored the game-winning goal against the Germans, was one of two substitutions that Moriyasu made at the break after having had enough.
Immediately after the restart, the Blue Samurai were more incisive, and midfielder Hidemasa Morita forced the first good save of the game with a strong strike. Just after the hour mark, Moriyasu substituted Brighton forward Kaoru Mitoma for a defender as Japan sought the victory that would advance them to the round of 16.
As the game entered its last 20 minutes in front of 41,000 spectators, it was all Japan.
The Costa Rican defender Francisco Calvo ruthlessly pulled the substitute, Junya Ito, back on the edge of the box as he appeared to have wriggled free and was closing in on goal, receiving a yellow card that easily could have been a red.
Nine minutes into the game, Fuller’s shot took a deflection and looped in, giving Costa Rica the victory after doing nothing offensively for the whole of the contest.
