The 2011 champions and 2015 runners-up Japan continued with their dominant performance at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup defeating Costa Rica 2-0 to knock them out of the competition.
Hikaru Naomoto opened the scoring in the 25th minute when she capitalized on a slip by Maria Coto before firing into the bottom corner.
The Asian side, continued pushing for a second goal and their efforts paid off when Aoba Fujino scored the second goal just two minutes later to ensure that they went on a break with a comfortable lead.
And in the second half, Nadeshiko Japan continued with their dominance but failed to add to the goals as Costa Rica remained solid to end the match 2-0.
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It was Japan’s second victory at the tournament which puts them one foot in the knockout stage.
They beat Zambia 5-0 in their first group game while Costa Rica lost 3-0 to Spain in their first match.
Today’s result meant that Japan is on the verge of a place in the last 16 if Spain avoids defeat to Zambia.
