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Japan are on the verge of qualifying for the Fifa Women’s World Cup round of 16 after a routine win over Costa Rica.
Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino both scored in the space of three first-half minutes to ease the 2011 champions to three points.
Japan will be the first side to secure their place in knockout stages, if Spain earn at least a point against Zambia later.
Costa Rica will be eliminated from the World Cup if Spain avoid defeat.
Japan get the job done
Since stunning the football world by beating the United States in the 2011 final, Japan have underwhelmed on the global stage.
But following the Tokyo Olympics – where Japan were eliminated in the quarter-finals on home soil – Futoshi Ikeda was appointed manager and has put together a side which has impressed with its attacking, possession-focused football.
Japan will face much tougher tests than Costa Rica and Zambia in their opening game, and they will need to be more clinical than they were at Dunedin Stadium. However, two wins and seven goals cannot be ignored.
This game was settled by the 27th minute – first Naomoto found the far left corner with a low shot from the left of the box, before Fujino shrugged off a tackle on the right wing, cut into the box and beat keeper Daniela Solera at the near post for her first Japan goal.
It was a moment of redemption for Fujino following a bizarre incident on 15 minutes where she prevented team-mate Risa Shimizu scoring with an inadvertent sliding tackle as both went to finish a chance.
Solera shines but Costa Rica outclassed
Costa Rica were outclassed here just as they were in their opening loss to Spain.
Nervous in possession, they were not technically able enough to play out from the back and inaccurate with long balls, constantly ceding possession to their opponents.
Solera – who has now made a tournament-high 19 stops at this World Cup – was once again the only factor between Costa Rica and a truly embarrassing scoreline.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Japan
Starting XI
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Squad number1Player nameYamashita
Average rating4.52
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Squad number5Player nameMiyake
Average rating5.24
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Squad number4Player nameKumagai
Average rating7.35
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Squad number3Player nameMinami
Average rating6.22
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Squad number2Player nameShimizu
Average rating6.70
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Squad number14Player nameHasegawa
Average rating6.46
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Squad number16Player nameHayashi
Average rating6.00
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Squad number6Player nameSugita
Average rating8.05
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Squad number15Player nameFujino
Average rating8.00
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Squad number8Player nameNaomoto
Average rating7.24
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Squad number11Player nameTanaka
Average rating7.50
Substitutes
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Squad number7Player nameMiyazawa
Average rating6.14
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Squad number9Player nameUeki
Average rating5.77
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Squad number10Player nameNagano
Average rating6.06
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Squad number17Player nameSeike
Average rating5.86
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Squad number19Player nameMoriya
Average rating5.50
Costa Rica
Starting XI
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Squad number23Player nameSolera
Average rating6.50
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Squad number3Player nameCoto
Average rating4.00
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Squad number20Player nameVillalobos
Average rating3.91
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Squad number4Player nameBenavides
Average rating4.20
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Squad number12Player nameElizondo
Average rating4.20
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Squad number7Player nameHerrera
Average rating4.50
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Squad number15Player nameGranados
Average rating4.56
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Squad number16Player nameAlvarado
Average rating4.30
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Squad number2Player nameGuillén
Average rating4.40
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Squad number9Player nameSalas
Average rating4.13
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Squad number14Player nameChinchilla
Average rating3.83
Substitutes
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Squad number10Player nameVillalobos
Average rating3.88
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Squad number11Player nameRodríguez
Average rating3.78
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Squad number21Player nameScott
Average rating3.67
Line-ups
Japan
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Yamashita
- 5Miyake
- 4Kumagai
- 3Minami
- 2ShimizuSubstituted forMoriyaat 90+1′minutes
- 14Hasegawa
- 16HayashiSubstituted forNaganoat 74′minutes
- 6Sugita
- 15FujinoSubstituted forMiyazawaat 59′minutes
- 8NaomotoSubstituted forSeikeat 74′minutes
- 11TanakaSubstituted forUekiat 59′minutes
Substitutes
- 7Miyazawa
- 9Ueki
- 10Nagano
- 12Takahashi
- 13Endo
- 17Seike
- 18Tanaka
- 19Moriya
- 20Hamano
- 21Hirao
- 22Chiba
- 23Ishikawa
Costa Rica
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 23Solera
- 3Coto
- 20Villalobos
- 4Benavides
- 12Elizondo
- 7Herrera
- 15GranadosSubstituted forRodríguezat 64′minutes
- 16Alvarado
- 2GuillénSubstituted forVillalobosat 45′minutes
- 9SalasSubstituted forScottat 76′minutes
- 14ChinchillaBooked at 85mins
Substitutes
- 1Pérez
- 5del Campo
- 6Sánchez
- 8Campos
- 10Villalobos
- 11Rodríguez
- 13Valenciano
- 17Varela
- 18Tapia
- 19Pinell
- 21Scott
- 22Estrada
- Referee:
- Maria Ferrieri Caputi
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Japan 2, Costa Rica 0.
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Second Half ends, Japan 2, Costa Rica 0.
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Riko Ueki (Japan) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Rocky Rodríguez (Costa Rica).
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Attempt missed. Sheika Scott (Costa Rica) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Mélissa Herrera with a headed pass.
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Attempt saved. Riko Ueki (Japan) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Hinata Miyazawa.
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Attempt missed. Riko Ueki (Japan) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Hinata Miyazawa.
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Attempt saved. Riko Ueki (Japan) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hina Sugita with a cross.
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Substitution, Japan. Miyabi Moriya replaces Risa Shimizu.
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Corner, Japan. Conceded by María Coto.
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Fuka Nagano (Japan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Gloriana Villalobos (Costa Rica).
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Priscila Chinchilla (Costa Rica) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Yui Hasegawa (Japan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Priscila Chinchilla (Costa Rica).
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Attempt saved. Mariana Benavides (Costa Rica) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Katherine Alvarado with a cross.
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Foul by Kiko Seike (Japan).
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Rocky Rodríguez (Costa Rica) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Moeka Minami (Japan).
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Daniela Solera (Costa Rica) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
