The Costa Rican Women’s National Soccer Team was eliminated from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Wednesday after playing their second match of Group C at the Dunedin Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, with 

The Ticas fell 2-0 against the Japan team.

According to the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), with this result and Spain’s win against Zambia, Costa Rica is officially eliminated from the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup with one game pending.

After scoring five times in their opener, Japan wanted to keep their momentum going and defender and captain Saki Kumagai almost did so in the 11 minute of the game via a header after a corner kick, but Costa Rica goalkeeper Daniela Solera denied her shot.

Japan’s two-goal burst in three minutes started in the 25’, as forwarder Hikaru Naomato received a pass and took advantage of a slip from defender Maria Paula Coto before sending a low shot to the bottom right corner past Solera, scoring the first goal from Japan for a 1-0 lead.

Japan found the back of the net again in the 27’ when forwarder Aoba Fujino found a gap near the right post, sending the ball into a tight angle with a strong shot, surprising Solera, scoring the second goal of the night to make it 2-0.

Solera was the most important player for "La Sele" again, blocking and stopping more than 20 attempts on goal coming from Japan throughout the game, making her the goalkeeper with the most saves of the tournament so far.

Costa Rica didn’t stop trying, with midfielder Gloriana Villalobos having an attempt on target to pull one back from her team in the 81 minutes, but her shot was stopped by Japan goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita.

However, despite the fact of being officially eliminated, the next game for "La Sele" will be on Monday against Zambia at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand.

The FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers will be televised live and on-demand with Paramount+. Live updates for the game will be published on the Costa Rica Soccer Football Federation's website.

This week, the Ticas fell 3-0 to Spain Team in their debut on Friday at the Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand.

Recently, the Costa Rica Men's Soccer Team was eliminated from the 2023 Gold Cup following the results of the 2-0 Mexico victory over the Ticos. The cup, organized by Concacaf was the main association football competition of the men's national football teams of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

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