After their shock win over Germany in the first game, Japan faces Costa Rica looking to take one step closer to the World Cup knockout stages. Hajime Moriyasu, Japan’s manager, referred to Japan’s 2-1 triumph over Germany as “a great occasion, a historic victory.” The match between Costa Rica and Spain will also go down in history, but not for the right reasons. The 7-0 defeat Luis Fernando Suarez’s team experienced was unquestionably the nation’s worst World Cup loss. More alarmingly, it was the first time since Costa Rica’s dismal performance against Brazil in 1990 that a country went the entire game without firing a single shot, on goal or otherwise.
Japan team news
Japan’s team and lineup towards the end of the game were drastically different from those used when they trailed Germany 1-0 at the break. Two wingers at wingback and a front three behind just two central midfielders—one of whom scored—were how Moriyasu finished the game. Even though it is unlikely that Japan will launch an all-out offensive against Costa Rica from the start, Moriyasu might be tempted to persist with the back three that successfully neutralized the threat of Germany’s wide overloads after the break.
Costa Rica team news
Suarez is anticipated to have access to his entire team. However, it is unknown how many of the starting XI that Spain sentenced to death by a thousand passes (1,045 to be exact) will keep their positions.
Japan vs Costa Rica World Cup score prediction
Suarez, the coach of Costa Rica, feared the wider ramifications of Spain’s victory since it was so thoroughly devastating. He acknowledged, “Psychologically, I’m extremely concerned we won’t be able to recover from this.” Eight of the ten previous teams that gave up at least seven goals in a World Cup game dropped their following contest. While a spectacular turnaround has happened before, Japan should have more than enough to add to a frail Costa Rica’s problems.
Prediction: Japan 2-0 Costa Rica
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