In the first match of the first round, Japan struggled against Germany, who had won the championship four times, but pulled in a historic victory. I was forced to lick it.
Director Hajime Moriyasu said, "We need the strength of two teams" in order to reach the top 8, which is the goal of the World Cup. I faced with a "turnover" to fight while fighting, but I didn't get any results.
Costa Rica's world ranking is 31st against Japan, which is 24th.
Looking at the world ranking, it was the only opponent in the first league that was lower than Japan.
Coach MORIYASU Hajime changed five players from the starting line-up for the match against Germany, stating, ``I will choose the best squad considering the fatigue of the first match.''
Six key members of the team, including captain Maya Yoshida and defensive midfielder Wataru Endo, remain in the starting line-up, while Ritsu Doan, who came off the bench in the match against Germany and scored the equalizing goal, is on the right side, and Yuki Soma is on the left side. , and Kiyo Ueda as a forward, and mainly replaced the attacking lineup with a new lineup.
Against Costa Rica, who defended with their manpower, Japan kept possession of the ball for a longer period of time. Time has passed.
The plan was to proceed with the match with the possibility of a draw, but in the 36th minute of the second half, Yoshida's clear ball was picked up by the opponent and allowed the opening goal.
This was the only shot on target by the opponent, and it was a painful defeat with a small opening.
Coach Moriyasu dropped his shoulders, saying, ``Other than the point where we conceded a goal, everything went as planned, but the result didn't go as planned.''
In addition, center back Itakura Ko said, "I didn't have the impression that I was hit with a shot, but I think it's football to lose a goal with that one shot. I have to make use of this disappointment next time." was
Still, Manager Moriyasu said, "I have no regrets about the 'turnover' that changed the starting line-up drastically," and added, "We will have another fierce, tough, and high-intensity match against Spain, so we have a good chance of winning. We will prepare a different game plan than this match to grab points and win against Spain.”
The final match of the first league match against Spain will be played in three days from here, starting in the early hours of December 1st (local time) and December 2nd (Japan time).
Coach Moriyasu's ``turnover'' did not produce any results in this match, but the success or failure of that command will be entrusted to the next match against Spain.