Costa Rica have put themselves back in contention at the Qatar 2022 World Cup with a shock 1-0 win over Japan in a Group E clash in Al Rayyan today.
The result put a huge dent in Japan’s hopes of reaching the last 16 as Costa Rica recovered from their 7-1 hammering by Spain in their opening match on Wednesday.
Keysher Fuller struck in the 81st minute to score with Costa Rica’s first shot on target in a drab game to leave the group wide open.
Following Japan’s historic victory over Germany in their opener coupled with Costa Rica’s 7-0 thrashing by Spain, the Asians would have sealed their round of 16 spot with a win today.
But a much-changed Japan line-up struggled and their hopes of reaching the knockout stage for a fourth time are now left hanging in the balance, as they will face Spain in their final group game on Thursday.
Costa Rica are now level on three points with Japan and can advance to the knockout rounds with a positive result against Germany on Thursday.
It was a largely dull encounter and, apart from a two-minute spell at the start of the game by Japan, the rest of the opening half was played at a very slow pace in the hot Qatar afternoon.
Both goalkeepers had very little to do and the only incidents around both boxes were a cross by Japan’s Ritsu Doan that flashed across the goal and a shot high over the crossbar by Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell.
Against the run of play Costa Rica grabbed the all-important goal with their only effort on target in the entire match as Fuller curled a shot from the edge of the area beyond the reach of keeper Shuichi Gonda and into the net, leaving Japan stunned.
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