In a Group C match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Dunedin, Japan emerged victorious over Costa Rica with a scoreline of 2-0.The Japanese team displayed their dominance right from the start, with a couple of early long balls and turnovers from both teams. The support from the Japan supporters in Dunedin was notable, creating a lively atmosphere in the stadium.
In the 25th minute, Japan scored their first goal to take the lead. After a quick trip into Costa Rica’s half, a pass from the right found Hikaru Naomoto, who took advantage of defender Maria Coto’s slip and converted the chance.
Just two minutes later, Japan extended their lead to 2-0. Mina Tanaka’s header went wide, but Aoba Fujino picked up the loose ball outside the area, turned, and made an impressive tight-angle shot that found its way past goalkeeper Daniela Solera and into the net.
Throughout the first half, Japan maintained a dominant display of possession and attacked relentlessly, putting the Costa Rican defence under constant pressure. Despite some errors, Japan quickly recovered possession and continued their offensive efforts. The halftime score was 2-0 in favour of Japan.
Japan on the Attack
In the second half, Gloriana Villalobos came on as a substitute for Costa Rica at the start. Japan immediately showed their attacking prowess, with Hina Sugita sending a cross into the area, but the ball went without a touch and was subsequently sent over the crossbar.
Despite Costa Rica’s efforts to push forward and break through the Japanese defence, they were unable to do so and frequently had to restart their attacks from deep in their own half. Japan continued to dominate with their movement and passing around the area, but struggled to find the final touch to convert their opportunities into goals.
In the 81st minute, Costa Rica had a chance to reduce the deficit when Gloriana Villalobos forced a diving save from Japanese goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita with her shot on target. This was only the second shot on target for Costa Rica in the group stages.
As the match reached its closing stages, a sign of frustration emerged from Costa Rican player Priscilla Chinchilla, resulting in a yellow card in the 86th minute. In the final minutes, the drums in the stadium started up again, possibly indicating either early celebrations from the Japan supporters or last-minute motivation for the Costa Rican players.
The referee added five minutes of stoppage time for Costa Rica to find a goal and for Japan to potentially increase their lead. In the 90+2nd minute, Risa Shimizu was substituted off for Japan.
Despite Costa Rica’s efforts and several saves from Solera, Japan remained strong on the attack. The final score at the end of the match was 2-0 in favour of Japan.
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Photo Credit: The Japanese team displayed their dominance right from the start of their Group C match to emerge victorious over Costa Rica with a full-time scoreline of 2-0. Photo: (c) FIFA (Instagram)
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