The Samurai Blue head into the match on the back of a stunning upset victory over Germany in their opening fixture of the tournament on Wednesday, while Costa Rica suffered a humiliating 7-0 defeat against Spain on the same day.
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Japan will take on Costa Rica in a Group E fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the Khalifa International stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Samurai Blue head into the match on the back of a stunning upset victory over four-time champions Germany in their opening fixture of the tournament on Wednesday, while Costa Rica suffered a humiliating 7-0 defeat against Spain on the same day. Three points against the CONCACAF outfit will almost seal Japan’s qualification to the knockout stages, depending on what happens in the other match of the day between Spain and Germany. Costa Rica, meanwhile, desperately needs to turn their fortunes in order to have any chances of progressing to the last-16.
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𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐘
━━━━━ 🇯🇵#SAMURAIBLUE
チーム一丸となって勝利を🔷🏆FIFA #ワールドカップ 第2節
⌚️19:00KO(🇯🇵)
🆚コスタリカ🇨🇷
📺#テレビ朝日/#ABEMA
🔗https://t.co/qYizrz7SO4#jfa #daihyo #サッカー日本代表#つな超え #新しい景色を2022#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/nBJo00dmpO— サッカー日本代表 🇯🇵 【11.17(木)】vs 🇨🇦【11.23(水)】vs 🇩🇪 (@jfa_samuraiblue) November 26, 2022
Japan’s game against Die Mannschaft was a game of two halves in which the European giants dominated the first half and took the lead through Ilkay Gundogan, from the penalty spot. However, after the break, the Samurai Blue came out all guns blazing and head coach Hajime Moriyasu’s substitutions made the difference. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick’s side struggled to cope with Japan’s intense pressing and often came out second best in fifty-fifty duels. Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano came off the bench to find the back of the net. Against Costa Rica, Moriyasu is likely to start with a much more attack-minded team because unlike Germany, Los Ticos are not expected to dominate proceedings and Japan is likely to have the bulk of the ball possession. Therefore, last game’s hero Asano could spearhead the attack, with AS Monaco forward Takumi Minamino, Daichi Kamada and Takefuso Kubo in support. Japanese players are superfit, which allows them to play with a high intensity throughout the match and when not in ball possession they press collectively, making it extremely difficult for the opposition.
As for Costa Rica, the only silver lining from the thrashing against Spain was that there are no fresh injury concerns ahead of the Japan game. While the whole team’s performance was below-par, head coach Eduardo Berizzo’s primary goal would be to help his side get over the embarrassing defeat and then lift the morale of the team, which is likely to be down. The Tricolor failed to create any goal-scoring chances against La Roja and the attackers were often isolated up front. Berizzo is expected to opt for a 4-4-2 formation against the Samurai Blue. Veteran striker Bryan Riaz could replace Anthony Conteras up front and join Joel Campbell. The 37-year-old is 1.88m tall and if Berizzo is opting for a long-ball strategy, the former Fulham-man could be handful. The Japanese have often struggled to cope with aerial balls and the Germans didn’t put enough crosses into the box to test the centre-backs Yoshida and Kou Itakara, rather played into their hands by trying to score the beautiful goal. Costa Rica can learn a lesson-or-two from the Germans.
Read more: Spain vs Germany: FIFA World Cup Live Stream, Form Guide, Schedule, Fixture and Probable Lineups
Japan’s victory against Germany didn’t come without any cost, with the full-backs Hiroki Sakai and Takehiro Tomiyasu picking up injuries. Both are a doubt for the Costa Rica game and are unlikely to be risked here. Therefore, Yamane is expected to start at the right-back position, while 36-year-old Nagatomo could occupy the opposite flank. Asano might replace Maeda up front and Minaimo could come in for Junya Ito. As for Costa Rica, no injuries have been reported thus far, but head coach Suarez might be tempted to make some changes after being demolished by Spain. Kendall Waston could replace Carlos Martinez at the right-back position.
Japan possible starting lineups (4-2-3-1): Gonda, Yamane, Itakura, Yoshida, Nagatomo, Endo, Tanaka, Minamino, Kamada, Kubo, Asano
Costa Rica possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Navas, Watson, Calvo, Duarte, Oviedo, Tejeda, Borges, Bennett, Fuller, Campbell, Ruiz
