DOHA: The battle between Japan and Costa Rica at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium sparked as Keysher Fuller scored inside the final 10 minutes to secure a shock win for Los Ticos, who strategically positioned defensive solidity in their second match of the tournament.
It was a pulsating game with Japan gaining an early foothold in the game as the match entered half-time with the score at 0-0. In second-half, Costa Rica began to distort Japan’s build-up and gradually found themselves growing into the game and finally grabbed a shock lead, with Keysher Fuller scoring in the 81st-minute. Costa Rica made Japan pay for their failure to capitalize on their attacking superiority when Keysher Fuller curled a shot over Shuichi Gonda (81) with the team’s first shot on target in the tournament.
With the win, Costa Rica climbed to third place in Group E, above Germany.
Team
Costa Rica starting Xl: Navas; Waston, Duarte, Calvo, Oviedo; Fuller, Borges, Tejeda, Torres;
Campbell, Contreras.
Japan starting Xl: Gonda; Yamane, Itakura, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Endo, Morita, Doan, Kamada, Soma; Ueda.
sources: hindustantimes/theathletic
