Two Goals In Two Minutes As Japan Beat Costa Rica To Edge Close To Round Of 16
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions, Japan picked its second win from its first two group games after a 2-0 win over Costa Rica on Wednesday.
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A pair of first-half goals for Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino do the job at Dunedin Stadium, as Japan takes victory in Group C against Costa Rica at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Another sturdy performance puts them top of the pile, and on course for the last-16.
Two wins from two for Futoshi Ikeda, and his side are among the frontrunners now.
But they will also be wary of their wastefulness throughout this game. They could have had more than two.
For Amelia Valverde’s team, the wait for a first Women’s World Cup win goes on.
Their fate is out of their own hands too, but they will take as many positives as they can get after flashes of promise again.
It’s the final round of Group C games next time out for these two. Japan heads to Wellington to face Spain, while Costa Rica takes on Zambia in Hamilton.
Meanwhile…
Ahead of the match, Nadeshiko Japan had a superb start to this year’s tournament as the team dismantled Zambia in one of the most assured performances across Australia and New Zealand.
Read Also – FIFA Women’s World Cup Individual Records
But all things considered, such a result was to be expected against the lowest-ranked side here.
Costa Rica, while still underdogs, was expected to present a sturdier test for the 2011 Women’s World Cup winners.
Futoshi Ikeda knew that even with an opening loss to Spain, Las Ticas could cause them some serious headaches but eventually picked a 2-0 win with two quickfire goals.
Opposite number Amelia Valverde had hoped to do just that too. Despite a significantly lower place on the world rankings than Japan, her side will have been stung by their opening defeat. In their second tournament appearance, they are still looking for a first win.
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