Japan need to make sure they “don’t dance badly” and undo their shock win over Germany against Costa Rica on Sunday, captain Maya Yoshida has said.
It would be the fourth time in the last seven World Cups that the Asian side have advanced to the knockout stages.
“Don’t get me wrong, when you win you feel more comfortable,” Yoshida said.
“We have to stay calm, prepare well and focus on the plan to get the win.
“The spotlight is on us after the last game and we have to make sure we don’t dance badly. We haven’t finished yet.”
Yoshida said he expects Costa Rica, which was beaten 7-0 by Spain in their opener, to “really go for it”.
“We want to build our own style by learning from others”
Eight of Japan The team plies their trade in Germany’s top two divisions, including goalscorers Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano in their opening game victory.
“Japan wants to build its own style by learning from other countries as well,” said coach Hajime Moriyasu.
“We are grateful to German football for their cooperation.
“Their coaches and our players [playing in Germany] helped us grow and we continue to learn from them.”
SUTTON’S PREDICTIONS
I dine on my prediction that Japan would beat Germany in their first game – I actually appeared on Japanese TV to talk about it.
As for Costa Rica, well, they looked really poor against Spain, but Spain can do that against teams with their possession and make you look like an idiot. We could see a very different display if they got on the ball here.
I would still support Japan. Win and they’re probably through to the last 16, so they’ve got that prize to play for.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-0
MATCH STATISTICS
- Japan have never lost in their previous four meetings with Costa Rica in all competitions (W3 D1), scoring exactly three goals in the three wins in this series.
- Costa Rica won their only World Cup game against an Asian nation, beating China 2–0 in 2002.
- After beating Germany 2-1, Japan are looking to win back-to-back World Cup matches for the first time since 2002 (against Russia and Tunisia), despite never winning their first two games of the same edition to the finals.
- Costa Rica lost their opener 7-0 to Spain, conceding as many goals in that match as their previous eight games in the tournament combined previously.
- Since beating Uruguay and Italy in their group in 2014, Costa Rica have been winless in seven World Cup matches (D4 L3), having failed to score in five of those matches.
- Against Spain, Costa Rica did not manage a single shot, this is the second case where a team failed to register a shot in a World Cup game since Opta had this data (from 1966), the other occasion also Costa Rica against Brazil in 1990. Meanwhile, Japan faced 26 shots in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup against Germany , the most he has ever faced in a tournament match.
