Costa Rica beat Japan 1-0 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium thanks to a 81st minute strike from Keysher Fuller that blew qualification from World Cup Group E wide open. Giant killers Japan who shocked Germany in the opening round hardly got a foothold in the game and would be left ruing their chances to […]

It was clear prior to the 2022 World Cup that Luis Enrique had his Spain team organized. They had been progressing well since Euro 2020 and expected to reach the semi-finals in Qatar. Whilst it’s not always wise to draw conclusions from one match, the 7-0 dismantling of Costa Rica was eye-opening. So dominant was […]

Japan’s national team navigated a mediocre group in 2018 (Colombia, Senegal, and Poland) to earn four points and a trip to the knockout rounds. How will they fare at World Cup 2022? Even with a better squad – their FIFA ranking has improved from 50 to 24 in four years – the draw provides a […]