• Keisher Fuller scores the only goal of the game at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium to go three points clear
Costa Rica beat Japan 1-0 at the World Cup on Sunday thanks to a late goal to blow Group E wide open and hand Germany a potential lifeline.
Japan, who beat four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their opener in Qatar, could take a huge step towards the last 16 with a win.
Instead he featured for the greater part of the match for Costa Rica, who were thrashed 7–0 by Spain, then scored with a deflected strike in the 81st minute by defender Keisher Fuller.
It was Costa Rica's first goal in this World Cup and could have been a huge advantage for the Germans.
The result left Spain, Japan and Costa Rica on three points each. Spain will face Germany in another important match on Sunday.
Japan made five changes to the squad that shocked Germany in their opening match as coach Hajime Moriyasu made full use of his 26-man squad.
In temperatures of 32 °C (90 °F) at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Japan attacked immediately and won a corner within 30 seconds to signal their intent.
Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suárez resisted the wholesale squad changes imposed by Spain, dropping teenage winger Jewison Bennett and defender Carlos Martínez to the bench.
Gerson Torres and 34-year-old centre-back Kendall Waston took their places in the aging XI, which included four players from the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals.
But Japan's early promise melted away in the Doha sun and the first shot on goal - a modest effort that sailed high and wide - didn't come until Costa Rica's 30-year-old Joel Campbell 10 minutes from half-time.
A drab first half came to a close with "Los Ticos" having more of the ball, but neither side had a shot on target.
Moriyasu had seen enough and made a double change at the break, one of them the introduction of Bundesliga-based striker Takuma Asano, who scored the winner against the Germans.
The Blue Samurai were immediately more cutting and midfielder Hidemasa Morita made his first proper save of the match within seconds of the restart with a powerful strike.
Moriyasu fouled out Brighton attacker Kaoru Mitoma for a defender just after an hour as Japan chased a win that would see them through to the last 16.
In front of 41,000 spectators, it was all Japan in the last 20 minutes.
Substitute Junya Ito saw he had been freed and was close to goal, only for Costa Rica defender Francisco Calvo to drag him back to the edge of the box, earning a yellow card that could have easily been a red.
Costa Rica did nothing as an attacking force for most of the game, but nine minutes from normal time they stole it when Fuller's shot took a deflection and looped in.
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