Japan fell behind against Germany on Wednesday, but two substitutes turned it around for Hajime Moriyasu’s team, making Samurais’ victory one of the shocks of the competition. Hours later, Costa Rica faced another favourite of group E – Spain, and the Central American nation hoped for a similar surprise as the Japanese. It could not have been more opposite to what the Samurai Blue did – the Spaniards dismantled Los Ticos 7-0. Today, Japan will be looking to build on their incredible victory over Die Mannschaft while Costa Rica will try and prove that four days ago was just a bad afternoon and that they are not a punching bag of group E.Samurai Blue have now put themselves in a strong position to reach the next round of the competition, and when it comes to advancing through the group stage – it is nothing new for the Asians – Japan have progressed to the round of 16 on three previous occasions, including back in 2018, when they finished second in Group H before losing to Belgium in the first knockout round.There is no downplaying the importance of this match in particular as Moriyasu’s side will finish their campaign against Spain on December 1 and especially as Costa Rica will enter it off the back of a thumping loss to La Furia Roja.Can’t do any worse – must do betterLos Ticos are competing in the finals of the World Cup for the third time in a row, and they incredibly reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 competition, topping Group D ahead of Uruguay, Italy and England before overcoming Greece on penalties in the first knockout round. Costa Rica saw their tournament ended by the Netherlands in the last eight, but it was a brilliant performance from the Selection.Costa Rica have faced Japan on five previous occasions in international football, with all five fixtures proving to be non-competitive games, and Japan have recorded four wins, including a 3-0 success in September 2018.La Tricolor will take on Germany in their final match in the section on December 1, and it is difficult to imagine them making an impression in this group, but they will be determined to give their supporters something to cheer against Japan.Japan have played Costa Rica four times before and the Samurai Blue are undefeated with three wins and a draw. 🤩🤩In their last meeting back in 2018, Takumi Minamino and Junya Ito each scored, with an own goal tacked on in a 3-0 Japan victory. 🎌🎌© JFA – All Rights Reserved pic.twitter.com/S0v9B5sSQS— J.LEAGUE Official EN (@J_League_En) November 27, 2022 As for the rosters for today’s faceoff – Japan have some issues on the defensive flank end. Hiroki Sakai is a doubt for Japan due to the injury that he picked up against Germany, and he was forced to miss training on Thursday with the issue. Takehiro Tomiyasu would be Sakai’s natural replacement, although the Arsenal defender also missed training on Thursday, so he will need to prove his fitness over the next 24 hours or so.Yuto Nagatomo was also replaced in the second half of the team’s first match of the tournament, but the 36-year-old is fit to start this game, and he should again line up at left-back.The hero of the match against the Germans Takuma Asano came off the bench to score the winner, and he could now come into the starting side for this match, potentially taking the place of Daizen Maeda.This man decapitated Germans: the written-off Gunner who found his luck in the BundesligaOn the other end, Costa Rica have not reported any injury concerns from their defeat to Spain. Bryan Ruiz and Alvaro Zamora are among those pushing for spots in the side, Joel Campbell should again be joined by Anthony Contreras in the final third of the field, and there is no question that the manager Suarez will be looking for a much-improved performance in this contest. The head coach is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack from the loss to La Roja, but there could be a change at the back, with Kendall Waston potentially coming in for Carlos Martinez.QATAR 2022 WORLD CUPGROUP ESunday13:00: (1.53) Japan (3.90) Costa Rica (7.00)22:00: (2.50) Spain (3.30) Germany (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
