Costa Rica bounced back from its humiliating 7-0 defeat to Spain, to secure a slender 1-0 win over Japan at Al-Rayyan stadium on Sunday.
Japan, which came into the game riding on a high of beating Germany in its opener, dominated vast swathes of the game and should have taken the lead, on multiple occasions, if not for some resolute defending from the Costa Rican side.
Costa Rica held on and waited for its moment to strike, which came in the 81st minute, when Japan failed to clear its line properly.
Midfielders Yeltsin Tejeda pounced on a loose ball and set up wing-back Keysher Fuller, whose left-footed shot took a deflection off a Japan defender to fly beyond keeper Shuichi Gonda.
Keylor Navas, who was rock-solid under the bar, and Costa Rica survived a few nervy moments before securing its first points of the tournament.
