Japan opens the door to the 1/8 round of the World Cup 2023

*Score: Hikaru Naomoto 25', Aoba Fujino 27'.

Two goals in a few minutes of Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino in the middle of the first half helped Japan defeat the team for the first time in the World Cup - Costa Rica. With six points, they will win a ticket to continue one round early if in the next match Spain does not suddenly lose to Zambia, rookie and the team with the lowest FIFA ranking among 32 teams competing at the 2023 World Cup. .

Japan kept the same 3-4-3 formation, but changed four positions in the starting line-up compared to the 5-0 win over Zambia. However, the play of the Asian representative is still smooth. They calmly controlled the ball, coordinated short and rarely touched continuously, gradually pushing the ball closer to the Costa Rica goal. Even the midfield duo Miyake Shiori or Saki Kumagai also often advanced in attack. Opportunities constantly come to female Samurai warriors.

12 minutes, Saki headed near the wall, but goalkeeper Daniela Solera promptly blocked. Four minutes later, Solera pushed Hikaru Naomoto's shot again. In this situation Costa Rica is quite lucky. Aoba Fujino tried to rush into the mudstone without watching Risa Shimizu who was also rushing in with a more favorable position. Two Japanese players stopped each other when only about three meters from the empty goal.

Faced with increasing pressure from Japan, Costa Rican players cannot avoid mistakes. In the 25th minute, Maria Coto caught the card and ran out to cut it. The ball reached Hikaru Naomoto's feet, and "8" perfectly hit the far corner, knocking out goalkeeper Solera.

Just two minutes later, the lead was doubled for Japan. Aoba Fujino dribbled in from the edge, past two defenders and then shot decisively from a very narrow angle. Solera, the goalkeeper with 10 saves in the previous Spain game, made a mistake. She judged that the 19-year-old Japanese star would stretch horizontally, so she wouldn't completely cover the near corner.

Early 2-0 lead, Japan took the initiative to play slowly, keeping hold. Coach Futoshi Ikeda also made all five substitutions. He seems to want to create conditions for the players to play. After only two matches, Japan has used 20 players, only three have not played a minute.

Shuffled the lineup but Japan still dominated the match. This match they launched a total of 24 shots, of which half went in the right direction. However, no more goals were scored in the second half when the finishing phases of Naomoto, Riko Ueki or Miyabi Moriya all lacked the force and danger to defeat goalkeeper Solera.

In the last round on July 30, Japan will meet Spain.