Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu, hailed as a tactical mastermind after the victory over Germany, was left with egg on his face on Sunday after Costa Rica produced a similarly stunning upset to blow World Cup Group E wide open.
Moriyasu's extreme caution was perhaps justified against Germany but to keep the attacking talent at his disposal on the bench against a team that lost their tournament opener 7-0 looked like a waste bordering on the criminal.
Although Moriyasu made five changes for the Costa Rica match in a squad rotation ahead of their final group match against Spain, only Ritsu Doan of the substitutes who came on to transform the Germany match was given a start. The Samurai Blue looked clueless as they tried to break down a Costa Rica side determined to avoid further embarrassment and who kept 10 men behind the ball for much of the time.
Junya Ito and Mitoma finally got on to the pitch just after the hour mark to trigger a marginal improvement but it was not until Minamino joined the fray in the 82nd minute that Japan looked anything like dangerous up front.
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