DOHA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) — As Japan face Costa Rica in their second Group E game at the Qatar World Cup on Sunday, a win will likely secure their place in the knockout stage. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu said his team will give it all for the victory.
Although Japan came from one goal behind to stun Germany 2-1 in the first game, while Costa Rica were smashed 7-0 by Spain, Moriyasu still took the Central American team as a formidable opponent.
“I am very proud of our victory against Germany, but it doesn’t guarantee a victory against Costa Rica,” Moriyasu made the remarks in a pre-game press conference on Saturday.
“Costa Rica have a lot of strong players and are very well-organized. The loss to Spain means they will have to burn the bridge against us. We have to be prepared for that, but we have to do our own things first.”
When asked about the tactics and starting line-up, given that defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Hiroki Sakai missed the training on Saturday, Moriyasu said that Japan will “strengthen the aggressiveness and endurance, and will select the best players tomorrow.”
Stuttgart captain Wataru Endo, who missed the game against Germany due to concussion told the press conference that the concussion is not a problem anymore and he hoped to “do my best in the World Cup with my teammates.”