Qatar 2022 World Cup Preview, Group E: Samurai Japan Will Make Costa Rica Say Sayonara

Japan striker Ritsu Doan (8), his goal opened Japan's victory over Germany in the inaugural match of group E of the 2022 World Cup Qatar. (Twitter/@fifaworldcup)

JAKARTA - Before overthrowing Germany in the first match, many predicted Japan's fate would not go beyond the group phase because in Group E of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar there were two giants who were all former world champions, namely Germany and Spain.

Most people are favoring Germany and Spain as the two representatives of Group E who will qualify for the knockout round. Very few are the champions of Japan and Costa Rica.

Now all those predictions vanished as soon as Japan overthrew Germany 2-1. Samurai Blue are suddenly the favourites, moreover they will face Costa Rica who was thrashed by Spain, in the second match of the group phase this Sunday afternoon. This left Hajime Moriyasu's team on the brink of qualifying for the last 16.

Japan may be on high optimism, but underestimating Costa Rica, which is a class below Germany, could backfire.

The case of Iran, which rose to beat Wales in its second match after being crushed by England 2-6, is a clear example of a cornered situation that can trigger the emergence of more energy that makes hope live again.

Costa Rica certainly sees Iran's rise as a benchmark to rebuild confidence after being torn apart by Spain in the first game.

But Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez admits recovering mentally after such a big defeat is a very difficult job.

"I'm worried that mentally our team will not be able to get out of the slump," Suarez said as reported by Antara.

"That's the first thing I have to finish," he continued as quoted by Reuters. "We have to put the defeat behind us."

That was three days ago. Now, Costa Rica may have recovered from this embarrassment, moreover, Iran has taught a lesson that a big defeat is not a guarantee of losing class compared to other teams.

But what sets Costa Rica apart from Iran is the lack of a huge crowd cheering them on from the rest of the stadium.

But on the field, to turn things around like Iran, Suarez will again ask for the role of the veteran players who brought Costa Rica to the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals after topping a group that also contained the giants at that time, namely England, Italy and Uruguay.

This is a tough challenge, especially since Japan is in much higher spirits and optimism when entering the field to face Costa Rica's challenges later.

They will again rely on six Bundesliga players including Freiburg's Ritsu Doan and VfL Bochum's Takuma Asano who scored two goals for the Asian side against Germany.

Japan also sees Costa Rica as an opponent that doesn't give as much of a test as Germany. Winning will make Japan's steps even lighter and become the first Asian team to reach the knockout round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

When they can do that, then the game against Spain in the last match of the group phase in three days will be seen by Japan no longer the David vs Goliath fight, instead it will be lived with joy and no burden.

But before that, they need to win against Costa Rica. On the other hand, for Costa Rica, nothing can guarantee that they will stay in Qatar, except for defeating Japan.

Match scenario

There may be changes in the composition of Costa Rica's players that are mandatory. One of the sectors that must be changed is the filling in the right wing of the defense where some of Spain's goals started from movements in this sector.

It could be the middle sector of defense that is changed because this sector is also a weak point that allows Spain to create so many goals.

But the view that Japan is not in the same class as Spain may have led Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez to retain his first 11 players.

This also means that Suarez continues to entrust the tip of the attack to be occupied again by Joel Campbell, who, although he has not moved in front of the Spanish defenders, the 30-year-old player is still Costa Rica's main goal machine, which has so far presented 25 goals to the national team.

Campbell will again partner Anthony Contreras in the final third of the field. And this also means that Jewison Bennette can remain a starter as well as Keysher Fuller.

Maybe if the opponents were Japan, Costa Rica's midfield and forwards could attack more so their defense didn't feel as surrounded as they faced Spain.

Under the crossbar, there is no reason for Keylor Navas to be ruled out even though Spain conceded seven times. This time, Navas will probably get proper protection from the four defenders that Luis Fernando Suarez usually plays.

In contrast with Japan. Coach Hajime Moriyasu is even more likely not to change the many line-ups that have presented wins that are not ordinary wins.

Players such as Wataru Endo and Ao Tanaka returned to start in midfield, while captain Maya Yoshida returned to lead the defence.

But maybe this time it was Takehiro Tomiyasu who was played from the start.

Another possible new starter is Takuma Asano who scored against Germany.

Meanwhile, Yuto Nagatomo, who was replaced in the second half, seems to still be installed as a starter. On the other hand, Takumi Minamino, who performed brilliantly as a substitute against Germany, will still come on as a substitute.

Important Statistics for Both Teams

The two teams have faced each other five times before this and all of them came in friendly matches. Japan won four times, the rest ended in a draw.

Japan toppled four-time world champions Germany 2-1 in their opening match, while Costa Rica were beaten 7-0 by Spain.

This is the seventh consecutive World Cup finals that Japan has contested since the 1998 World Cup in France.

For Costa Rica itself the 2022 World Cup Qatar is the third consecutive World Cup which is the first time they have been able to take part in it in a row.

For two Japanese players, namely Eiji Kawashima and Yuto Nagatomo, Qatar 2022 is the fourth World Cup finals.

Predicted lineups

Costa Rica: Keylor Navas (GK); Kendall Waston, Francisco Calvo, Oscar Duarte, Bryan Oviedo; Yeltsin Tejeda, Celso Borges; Jewison Bennette, Keysher Fuller; Joel Campbell, Anthony Contreras

Japan: Shuichi Gonda (GK); Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kou Itakura, Maya Yoshida, Yuto Nagatomo; Wataru Endo, Ao Tanaka; Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Takefusa Kubo; Takuma Asano.