Japan reach last 16 after beating Costa Rica

Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023

Hosts : Australia and New Zealand Dates : 20 July-20 August
Coverage : Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website & app. Full coverage details; latest news

Japan have qualified for the Fifa Women’s World Cup round of 16 after their routine win over Costa Rica was followed by Spain beating Zambia to ensure both progressed from Group C.

Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino both scored in the space of three first-half minutes to ease the 2011 champions to three points.

Japan’s victory put them on the brink of qualification but they needed Spain to win to guarantee their place in the knockout stages with one game still to play.

Japan and Spain, who are the first sides to qualify, both have six points in Group C and will face off for top spot.

That game will take place on 31 July, with Japan needing to win to finish first due to Spain’s superior goal difference.

Costa Rica, alongside Zambia, become the first two sides eliminated from the competition. They will also meet on Monday, with both seeking their first ever World Cup victory.

Japan get the job done

Aoba Fujino scored her first senior goal for Japan to put them 2-0 ahead against Costa Rica

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.

“We did what we needed to do and we did it well,” said Ikeda. “We’ve prioritised winning points. The players came here with a serious goal in mind and we’re all looking towards that same goal.”

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.

Costa Rica coach Amelia Valverde, who blamed lapses of concentration for the two goals, was asked whether it was time to bring an end to her eight-year reign.

“I’m totally focused on having the best World Cup possible in the circumstances,” she told reporters. “We still have a match to play and, for us, all matches are important. I don’t think this is the right time to talk about that.”

Player of the match

SugitaHina Sugita

with an average of 8.15

• Japan
• Costa Rica

1. Squad number6Player nameSugita

2. Squad number15Player nameFujino

3. Squad number4Player nameKumagai

4. Squad number8Player nameNaomoto

5. Squad number11Player nameTanaka

6. Squad number2Player nameShimizu

7. Squad number7Player nameMiyazawa

8. Squad number10Player nameNagano

9. Squad number14Player nameHasegawa

10. Squad number3Player nameMinami

11. Squad number17Player nameSeike

12. Squad number16Player nameHayashi

13. Squad number9Player nameUeki

14. Squad number5Player nameMiyake

15. Squad number19Player nameMoriya

16. Squad number1Player nameYamashita

Costa Rica

1. Squad number23Player nameSolera

2. Squad number15Player nameGranados

3. Squad number2Player nameGuillén

4. Squad number9Player nameSalas

5. Squad number10Player nameVillalobos

6. Squad number7Player nameHerrera

7. Squad number12Player nameElizondo

8. Squad number11Player nameRodríguez

9. Squad number21Player nameScott

10. Squad number16Player nameAlvarado

11. Squad number3Player nameCoto

12. Squad number4Player nameBenavides

13. Squad number14Player nameChinchilla

14. Squad number20Player nameVillalobos

• Line-ups
• Match Stats
• Live Text

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
• 14Chinchilla Booked at 85mins

Substitutes

• 1Pérez
• 5del Campo
• 6Sánchez
• 8Campos
• 10Villalobos
• 11Rodríguez
• 13Valenciano
• 17Varela
• 18Tapia
• 19Pinell
• 21Scott
• 22Estrada

Referee: Maria Ferrieri Caputi

Attendance: 6,992

Match Stats

Live Text

1. Match ends, Japan 2, Costa Rica 0.

2. Second Half ends, Japan 2, Costa Rica 0.

3. Riko Ueki (Japan) wins a free kick on the left wing.

4. Foul by Rocky Rodríguez (Costa Rica).

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Attempt missed. Riko Ueki (Japan) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Hinata Miyazawa.

8. 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.

9. Substitution, Japan. Miyabi Moriya replaces Risa Shimizu.

10. Corner, Japan. Conceded by María Coto.

11. Fuka Nagano (Japan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

12. Foul by Gloriana Villalobos (Costa Rica).

13. Priscila Chinchilla (Costa Rica) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

14. Yui Hasegawa (Japan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

15. Foul by Priscila Chinchilla (Costa Rica).

16. 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.

17. Foul by Kiko Seike (Japan).

18. Rocky Rodríguez (Costa Rica) wins a free kick on the right wing.

19. Foul by Moeka Minami (Japan).

20. Daniela Solera (Costa Rica) wins a free kick in the defensive half.