Costa Rica cashed in on Japan’s arrogance to grab a Group E lifeline.
Keysher Fuller’s stunning, 81st-minute effort from outside the box - his country’s first shot on target - will ensure everyone knows the way to the capital San Jose to celebrate this win. He said afterwards: “The main thing was to keep our goal alive!
Head coach Luis Fernando Suarez added: “You can say we only beat Japan but it's a win against ‘this’ Japan. So we are still alive. We are not dead. We now have to think about the next match and apply the same pressure. “No one can forget about us yet. We can still dream.”
They can indeed. But let’s not kid ourselves, Japan threw this away.
Their attitude was all wrong against a side smashed up 7-0 by Spain last Wednesday.
They were sloppy, far too deliberate in their build-up play and believed last week’s shock win over Germany win had earned them a few extra seconds on the ball.
Both teams stunk the place out in one of the worst halves of football the World Cup has seen for some time. So bad, in fact, that at times you felt sorry for the ball. No-one in the forward line had the desire to get to a terrific ball across the six-yard box after just 14 minutes.
In the second half Japan were better but not enough. Costa Rica produced a rare counter-attack late on and Fuller curled a delicious effort into the top corner.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu should be worried about his job if they go out. This was there for them. Instead they now have to try and take points off red-hot Spain. Good luck with that.
Why did he stick wide man Yuki Soma, one of five changes from the win over Germany, who couldn’t put a decent ball into the box here to save his life.
Why stick with midfielder Hidemasa Morita who lacked composure in the box just after half time when he should have scored.
And why was the very capable Kaoru Mitoma, who created three chances soon after coming on, on the bench in the first place?
Moriyasu insisted the Costa Ricans had to be shown respect. Yes, really. The side that had just lost 7-0. Then he claimed they could pull off another shock against Spain.
“Those countries are world cup title holders,” he said. “So we have a lot of respect for them.
“But we won a match against Germany. Spain will be a tough game but there is a good chance for us to win. So we will prepare with confidence.”
The way this World cup is going you actually wouldn’t bet against the upset. But in terms of their attitude, Japan need to smarten up.
