Pure Costa Rica

A hardened Costa Rica, its purest version, got back into the fight of group E knocking down Japan with a shot on goal throughout the game. The beaten Central American team showed his real face in a loose, tense and locked game. Japan stampeded out to quickly break the battered Costa Rican confidence. Three broadsides to measure if the corrective from Spain was still in the minds of Suárez’s men. But, less permeable and protected by three central defenders, Costa Rica held on and found Campbell’s left foot to take a breather. The player from León grabbed the ball, tempered the spirits and collected a couple of lateral free kicks that stopped the Japanese fumes. It had to be his day. The former Betis player always loved her and leaned the Tico game to the left. But it was a measured circulation, avoiding risks, and that reduced speed and depth to Costa Rica.

Japan did not suffer and expected to bite the counter. Doan almost succeeded, who surprised Oviedo, but sending him to the small area did not find a finisher. Moriyasu’s plan was to wear down Costa Rica by loading it with possession, inciting it to make mistakes. But he lacked threat. If Maeda had been a zero to the left against Germany, Ueda was not capable of giving the Japanese second line an outlet. He lost every duel with Waston. On the sidelines, the Japanese breaking marks were launched with the measure of having three points in the backpack. It was not a matter of being wrong. Meanwhile, Campbell was just too little to embarrass a Gonda who reached the break without having to intervene. Applied, but slow Costa Rica; patient and cynical Japan.

At halftime, Moriyasu pulled on his magic formula. He removed Nagatomo and the invisible Ueda to play with three center backs as well. Japan was already accelerating in another way. Morita tested Keylor and Asano began measuring the waist and snatch of the bulky Waston. Costa Rica was beginning to suffer. It was up to Suárez to give his team another nuance and surround Campbell with something. But that momentum took too long to arrive and Moriyasu, little by little, was releasing all his arsenal against a totally shrunken Costa Rica. After the hour, Suárez put all his speed into play with Benette and Aguilera. The answer was resounding from Ito, he broke Calvo on the edge of the area and, when he already spotted Keylor, he was brought down by the Tico central defender in despair centimeters from the area. The feeling was that Japan was missing a final chord from Kamada to finish the job, while Costa Rica walked along a wire that was shaken by the vertical refreshment units that Moriyasu had released.

But Japan got its medicine. Unable to quell an ethical attack from the right, Tejeda picked up a rebound on the edge of the area and served to Fuller. The winger released a soft left-footed shot, although cornered. This time Gonda’s hands were made of butter and the hero of the feat against Germany was photographed. The opposite of Keylor. The goalkeeper secured the victory with a miraculous save on Asano’s shot.