Japan Women vs Costa Rica Women – Match preview, live stream, kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
Japan will be looking to build upon their incredible start to the 2023 Women’s World Cup – where they beat Zambia 5-0 – on Wednesday when they face Costa Rica.
Costa Rica hasn’t had a great start to their campaign, after losing to Spain.
Match Preview
Japan World Cup campaign
It’s been a more than-perfect start for Japan after they cruised to a 5-0 victory over Panama.
Hinata Miyazawa, Mina Tanaka, Jun Endo and Riko Ueki guided Japan to a comfortable win.
Japan can be confident going forward, having reached the last three World Cup finals, including 2011 the year they won the World Cup.
If they win this game, and Spain draws against Zambia, Japan can qualify for the last 16 with a game to spare.
Having won four of their last five internationals, Japan will be hoping to keep up their incredible run at the Dunedin Stadium on Wednesday.
Costa Rica World Cup campaign
It’s Costa Rica’s second appearance in the World Cup and it has not been a good start. The team lost 3-0 to Spain on Friday.
Spain could’ve won by a lot if it wasn’t for Daniela Solera, who made 10 saves during the game.
The latest loss continues the team’s poor run of form – their last 12 matches have only see one win, two draws and nine defeats.
Costa Rica are still looking for their first-ever World Cup win – having only ever drawn two and lost two of their four matches at the tournament.
The team must at least draw to be in with any hope. If they lose and Spain picks up at least a point against Zambia – it’s all over for Costa Rica.
Team News
Despite coming off the bench to score in Japan’s opening game, Ueki may have to settle for a place among the substitutes once again, with Ikeda set to name an unchanged lineup.
Rion Ishikawa will feature in a back three with Saki Kumagai and Moeka Minami, with the trio looking to begin the tournament with consecutive clean sheets.
After marking her first World Cup appearance with a brace, Miyazawa will be looking to enjoy another successful outing when she lines up in the front three alongside Aoba Fujina and Tanaka.
As for their opponents, Solera could be busy once again, but the Costa Rica goalkeeper will be hoping to receive assistance from her defence.
Fabiola Villalobos, Mariana Benavides and Valeria del Campo will feature in central defence, while Maria Coto and Cristin Granados are set to operate as the two wing-backs.
Maria Salas is expected to retain her place in the frontline, and the 21-year-old could be joined in a front three by Melissa Herrera and Priscila Chinchilla.
Japan Women possible starting lineup:
Yamashita; Ishikawa, Kumagai, Minami; Shimizu, Nagano, Hasegawa, Endo; Fujino, Miyazawa, Tanaka
Costa Rica Women possible starting lineup:
Vega; F. Villalobos, Benavides, Del Campo; Coto, G. Villalobos, Alvarado, Granados; Herrera, Chinchilla, Salas
WTX Sports predicts Japan 3-0 Costa Rica
We predict the Costa Rica goalkeeper will be heavily relied on again, but Japan will comfortably win.
