Japan 2-0 Costa Rica? What’s your prediction?
Few would have given Japan much chance of getting out of a group that included Germany and Spain when the World Cup draw was made but a win over Costa Rica on Sunday would leave Hajime Moriyasu's side on the brink of the last 16.
The Japanese came from behind to beat four-times champions Germany on Wednesday and will face a Costa Rica side reeling from their 7-0 thrashing by Spain in their Group E opener.
For Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez, rebuilding his side's shattered confidence is the priority.
"I'm worried that mentally the team won't get out of this slump, this bad result," he said after the defeat. "Logically, that's the first thing I have to try to solve.
To help him lift the side, the coach will turn to the few veterans from their 2014 campaign when they reached the quarter-finals after topping a group that also featured England, Italy and Uruguay.
Costa Rica, who suffered their heaviest ever defeat at the World Cup finals, are unlikely to provide as stiff a test as the Germans.
When?
27th November, 04:00 pm, Bangladesh time
Where?
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar.
Capacity: 45,032
Head-to-head
Matches 5
Japan 4
Costa Rica 0
Draw 1
Lineups
Japan: (4-2-3-1) Shuichi Gonda (GK), Miki Yamane, Ko Itakura, Maya Yoshida, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan, Yuto Nagatomo, Wataru Endo, Daichi Kamada, Ayase Ueda, Yuki Soma
Costa Rica: (4-4-2) Keylor Navas (GK), Bryan Oviedo, Francisco Calvo, Oscar Duarte, Kendall Waston, Keysher Fuller, Gerson Torres, Yeltsin Tejeda, Celso Borges, Joel Campbell, Anthony Contreras
Key stats:
* Japan stunned Germany 2-1 in their opening game, registering their first win over the four-times world champions, while Costa Rica were hammered 7-0 by Spain.
* Japan are playing in their seventh successive World Cup, having started that run at France in 1998.
* Costa Rica are playing at a third successive World Cup for the first time.
* Japan's Eiji Kawashima and Yuto Nagatomo are both appearing at their fourth World Cup. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and Seigo Narazaki were the only two Japanese players who had previously appeared at four.
Previous meetings:
* The teams have met five times, all in international friendlies, with Japan winning four games and the other ending in a draw.
Prediction: Japan 2-0 Costa Rica
Following is a statbox on Japan at the World Cup:
FIFA Ranking: 24
Odds: 250-1
Previous tournaments:
Japan have played at every World Cup since their debut in 1998 and they first reached the last 16 as co-hosts with South Korea in 2002. Japan replicated that in South Africa in 2010 and again in Russia in 2018, where they were knocked out by Belgium, despite being two goals ahead and 21 minutes from reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. Japan exited in the group stages in 1998, 2006 and 2014.
How they qualified:
Japan advanced with a game remaining after a late double from substitute Kaoru Mitoma secured a 2-0 win away to Australia and a second-place finish behind Saudi Arabia with seven wins in 10 matches. In an earlier Asian qualifying round, Japan scored 46 times in their eight matches, with nine from Takumi Minamino, and thrashed Mongolia 14-0 for their biggest-ever win in World Cup qualifying.
Following is a statbox on Costa Rica at the World Cup.
FIFA Ranking: 31
Odds: 500-1
Previous tournaments:
Costa Rica have appeared in five World Cups since their debut in 1990. Their best performance came in 2014 when they topped a group with Uruguay, Italy and England before they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Netherlands on penalties.
However, they crashed out in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup after finishing bottom without a win.
How they qualified:
Costa Rica failed to grab an automatic berth after finishing fourth in the CONCACAF qualifiers behind Canada, Mexico and the United States. They had an identical record to the U.S. but missed out on third spot due to goal difference.
Six of Costa Rica's seven wins were by one-goal margins and that trend continued in the inter-confederation playoff where they beat New Zealand 1-0 in June to qualify.