Japan vs. Costa Rica highlights: Japan defeats Costa Rica, 2-0
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup continued Tuesday (on FS1 and the FOX Sports app) with a Group C match between Japan and Costa Rica at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Japan remained atop the Group C standings with a 2-0 victory behind goals from Hikaru Naomoto and 19-year-old Aoba Fujino. The first-half scores came within two minutes of one another, with the latter being Fujino’s first World Cup goal.
Costa Rica has yet to win a game this tournament and will face Zambia next, while Japan is 2-0 and will go up against Spain; both games will be played Monday.
Check out the highlights!
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Check out the highlights and top moments between Japan and Costa Rica as they kicked off their second match in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
85': Yellow card
Priscilla Chinchilla received the first yellow card of the match after she took down Japan's Yui Hasegawa.
63': Ready to rock and roll
"Rocky" Rodriguez came off the bench for Costa Rica, replacing Cristin Granados, marking her 99th international appearance.
26': First one down
Fujino beat defender Mariana Benavides at the near post to score her first FIFA Women's World Cup goal, giving Japan an early 2-0 lead.
24': Goal
Hikaru Naomoto put Japan up 1-0 after evading a sliding Costa Rica defender and capitalizing on an open lane for the goal.
11': Corner kick
A well-placed corner kick from 19-year-old Aoba Fujino was almost successfully converted after it found Saki Kumagai, who sent a speeding header toward Costa Rica goalie Daniela Solera.
PREGAME
Setting the stage
The "World Cup NOW" crew previewed the match live on Twitter ahead of kickoff.
Check out the full Women's World Cup schedule and how to watch each match live here. Find the latest scores here.