After stunning Germany and the world, Japan will be on a mission to cause yet another upset in Group E when they take on Los Ticos, who were left shell-shocked by a 7-0 drubbing from Spain in their opening match. It is hard to see them bounce back at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Sunday.
To Win Match
Japan 9/20 | Draw 33/10 | Costa Rica 13/2
Japan came into this World Cup with high hopes of improving their standing in world football by staging a sterling performance in their opening game. They were expected to find life hard in this ‘group of death’, but defied all odds when they came from a goal down to defeat Germany in their opener– one of the most successful national teams at the World Cup.
After trailing to an Ilkay Gundogan penalty in the 33rd minute, the Blue Samurai showed plenty of energy and determination going forward themselves while the introduction substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano was exactly what they needed to turn things around in the final quarter of the game.
Japan has surprising depth, as substitutes scored both of their goals. Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma are excellent options to have off the bench and could easily start.
Against a wounded Costa Rica side, it is unlikely that Japan will look to go all-out in attack, but coach Hajime Moriyasu will want to stick to the same back-three of Tomiyasu, Itakura and Yoshida – who dealt with the threat of Germany’s wide overloads well enough.
If Japan can win here and qualify for the last 16, it’ll be the first time in history they make consecutive World Cup knockout stages.
That lethargic display by Los Ticos on Wednesday makes it difficult to see how they can produce a positive result at the Ahmad bin Ali, but Luis Fernando Suarez’s men will have to put that game behind them and start looking forward to the rest of the tournament. More damningly, it was the first time a nation had gone an entire match without a single shot – on target or otherwise.
There is no doubting the quality the side possesses, but they also have one of the oldest squads at this year’s tournament. Seven of their starting XI on Wednesday were 30 or older and they had no answer whatsoever for a Spanish team in the midst of a youth revolution, led by back-to-back Golden Boy award winners Pedri and Gavi.
While Suarez admitted after the Spain defeat that, “Psychologically I’m really worried we won’t be able to recover from this,” – there is still precedent for a miraculous turnaround against Japan ahead of another big clash with Germany four days later.
Costa Rica will certainly take solace in the fact that that 7-0 result was only their second defeat this year, having only lost once ahead of the world cup (2-0 against Panama). At the 2014 tournament in Brazil, they incredibly reached the quarter-finals, topping Group D ahead of Uruguay, Italy and England before overcoming Greece on penalties in the Round of 16.
They may not make an impression at all in this year’s competition, but they certainly will be determined to give their supporters something to cheer against Japan.
Verdict: Japan win (9/20)
Of the 10 previous teams to have conceded at least seven goals in a World Cup match, eight have gone on to lose their next game. Costa Rica will be no different.
