Japan aim for knockout stage with Costa Rica romp
How big was Japan’s 2-1 upset of Germany in the opening round of the World Cup? Newspapers in Japan used the term “Daikimboshi” from sumo wrestling to describe the magnitude of the surprise: when a low-ranked wrestler overpowers a grand champion.
The victory has also been compared to Japan’s 34-32 upset of powerful South Africa in the 2015 rugby World Cup in England.
Japan was the underdog against four-time champion Germany, but it will be a strong favorite in its next Group E match against Costa Rica, where a victory could move Japan into the knockout stage with a game to spare.
A loss by Costa Rica on Sunday would eliminate it from advancing. Costa Rica faces Germany in its final match and Japan goes against Spain.
Costaricaisreelingfroma7-0thrashingagainst Spain in its opener, and it’s anyone’s guess how the Ticos will respond. With a population of just over 5 million, the tiny Central American country is appearing in its sixth World Cup. It reached the quarterfinals in 2014 in Brazil. Japan has never reachedthequarterfinalsataworldcup,andthat’s the aim this time. This is Japan’s seventh straight appearance, and it has reached the round of 16 on three occasions, including in Russia in 2018. It lost 3-2 in stoppage time to Belgium ater leading 2-0. It was eliminated by Paraguay on penalties in 2010, and lost to Turkey 1-0 in 2002 when the country co-hosted the event with South Korea.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu has spoken oten about going farther this time and breaking the “final-16 hex.”
Substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano scored late goals against Germany - they both play in Germany’s Bundesliga - to lead Japan to the upset. Asano got the winner in the 83rd minute, squeezing the ball behind German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from a very sharp angle.
Costa Rica was overwhelmed by Spain with only 28% of the possession. It would also face the same problem against Japan, which is able to hold the ball for long spells, and is also a quick, counteratacking threat.
“We couldn’t complete three or four passes,” Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez said of the Spain loss.
The Ticos will have to do much more against Japan.
Meanwhile, Mellowing with age is not part of the plan for Japan veteran Yuto Nagatomo, whose flame-red hair and wild celebrations are helping to fuel the Blue Samurai’s fire in Qatar.
The 36-year-old full-back has been in irrepressible mood at his fourth World Cup -- a record for a Japanese oufield player -- and is fully embracing his role as the team’s elder statesman.
Nagatomo played nearly an hour of Japan’s stunning 2-1 opening win over Germany but his involvement was not over when he let the pitch.
He spent the rest of the match encouraging his teammates from the sidelines and racing off the bench to congratulate goalscorers Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano.
He then carried his exuberant mood over into his post-match interviews, screaming “Bravo!” into a TV camera in a clip that went viral around the world. It was nothing out of the ordinary for a player who has dyed his hair red for the tournament to fire up his teammates.
“The idea was that it’s the red of the Japanese flag, and it also shows the passion of our players,” Nagatomo explained.
“I wanted to express that. I asked people what colour I should dye it and a lot said red. I had thought that as well so it felt like it best represented my atitude towards the World Cup.”
Nagatomo said his wife, a TV personality in Japan, had even dyed her hair a red tinge in “a gesture of unity”.
The defender was never likely to do things by half at a World Cup in which he is determined to have a positive impact.
Japan’s squad contains 19 players making their World Cup debuts and only a handful of veterans.
Defender Maya Yoshida and reserve goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima are still around but most of the generation who led Japan at the previous three World Cups -- Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa, Shinji Okazaki and Makoto Hasebe -- have moved on.