New Zealand – The Costa Rican Women’s National Team played their second match of Group C of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Wednesday at the Dunedin Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, with Las Ticas falling 2-0 against Japan.
With this result and Spain’s win against Zambia, Costa Rica is officially eliminated from the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup with one game pending.
After scoring five times in their opener, Japan wanted to keep their momentum going and DF and captain Saki Kumagai almost did so in the 11’ via a header after a corner kick, but Costa Rica GK Daniela Solera denied her shot.
Japan’s two-goal burst in three minutes started in the 25’, as FW Hikaru Naomato received a pass and took advantage of a slip from DF Maria Paula Coto before sending a low shot to the bottom right corner past Solera, scoring the first goal from Japan for a 1-0 lead.
Japan found the back of the net again in the 27’ when FW Aoba Fujino found a gap near the right post, sending the ball into a tight angle with a strong shot, surprising Solera, scoring the second goal of the night to make it 2-0.
Solera was the most important player for La Sele again, blocking and stopping more than 20 attempts on goal coming from Japan through the game, making her the goalkeeper with the most saves of the tournament so far.
Costa Rica didn’t stop trying, with MF Gloriana Villalobos having an attempt on target to pull one back from her team in the 81’, but her shot was stopped by Japan GK Ayaka Yamashita.
The next game for La Sele will be on Monday against Zambia at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand.
