Costa Rica has kept their hopes for progression from the group stage of the World Cup alive as they defeated Japan 1-0. This comes after the Costa Ricans were defeated 7-0 by Spain during their opening game.
In what was a hotly-contested game, Costa Rica broke the deadlock in the 81st minute when Keysher Fuller found the back of the net with what was Costa Rica’s first shot on target in the entire game.
While Japan started the game strong with a fast-paced attack, the remainder of the first half was slow-paced, with neither team looking particularly threatening up front.
Japan seemed to step things up a gear in the second half as defender Yuto Nagatomo was taken off for attacker Takuma Asano, who scored Japan’s winner against Germany. The Japanese continued to threaten the Costa Rican goalmouth for the remainder of the game, thereby making Costa Rica’s winner all the more unexpected.
With this victory, Costa Rica now sits on three points, tied with Spain and Japan. While Costa Rica and Japan have played two games each, Spain has a game in hand and will face Germany, who are on the verge of elimination.
