Costa Rica stunned Japan 1-0 thanks to a late goal at the World Cup on Sunday to blow Group E wide open and hand a potential lifeline to Germany.

Japan, who shocked four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their opener in Qatar, could have taken a giant stride towards the last 16 with a win.

Instead they laboured for large parts of the match against a Costa Rica side who were hammered 7-0 by Spain, then defender Keysher Fuller scored in the 81st minute with a deflected strike.

It was Costa Rica’s first shot on target at this World Cup and could be of huge benefit to the Germans.

The result left Spain, Japan and Costa Rica all on three points. Spain face Germany later Sunday in another crucial contest.

Japan made five changes to the team which shocked Germany in their opening match as coach Hajime Moriyasu made full use of his 26-man squad.

Click here for full story

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.