Japan – Costa Rica

The opponents will be active offensively and will score at least twice in the match

The opponents will face each other in the first leg of Sunday's World Cup clash. If before the opening round of the championship the Japanese and Costa Ricans were quoted roughly equally, being in the shadow of the giants of world football in the face of Spain and Germany, before the second game Japan is the full-fledged favourite to compete with the Germans for the play-off, while Costa Rica is considered the least likely contender for the championship among all participants in the tournament at odds of 1500. Even a Central American side's qualification for the knockout rounds is heavily weighted at 40, according to bookmakers. The Japanese are of course seen as favourites, and the big question before the game is whether the Americans can hold their nerve after suffering a humiliation against Spain. Japan, along with Saudi Arabia, were the biggest sensations in the opening round. Both of these teams would beat the Mundial favourites, conceding in the first half and scoring twice in the second. In contrast to the Arab team, the Japanese players also showed their good side in the first half against Germany. The Asian team is well prepared physically, quick and disciplined. On the whole, you could assess Japan's strength in pre-World Cup friendlies, where they lost only to the very interesting Canadians. Costa Rica, against Spain a few days ago, looked totally confused and discouraged. Having conceded early in the game, the Costa Ricans lost any control over the pace of the football offered by the Europeans. The final score of 0-7 signalled Costa Rica as the most "injured" team of the championship in the first round. However, one cannot close one's eyes to the fact that the Central American representative had played 12 matches before Spain this year, losing only once. In official and friendly matches, without conceding a goal, the Costa Ricans have beaten Nigeria, the USA, Canada and have not lost to Mexico or the Republic of Korea. In the upcoming match, the Japanese will be focused on attack and three points, but Costa Rica will also show professionalism, which will translate into at least two goals for two.