YOKOHAMA, Japan, 10 June — Japan defeated Russia 1-0 yesterday, securing their first-ever victory in the World Cup finals and giving the co-hosts a strong chance of going through to the second stage of the tournament.
Earlier, Mexico beat Ecuador 2-1 and Costa Rica drew 1-1 against Turkey, leaving both groups wide open in a wide-open competition.
But the day belonged to Japan, a nation where soccer usually takes a back seat to baseball.
Cheered on by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and a delirious crowd that raised the roof of Yokohama International Stadium, Japan went ahead in the 51st minute when Man-of-the-Match Junichi Inamoto lifted the ball over Ruslan Nigmatullin from eight meters.
“It was an extraordinary match against a very good team who came to win,” Japan coach Philippe Troussier said. “We saw a great Japanese team and, as far as the match was concerned, our victory was fully merited.”
The historic result gave Japan four points in Group H, ahead of Russia with three. Belgium, with one point from a 2-2 draw with Japan, play Tunisia, bottom with no points, today.
The win means Japan have every chance of progressing to the second round of the 32-team tournament and put behind them the ignominy of their early exit on their World Cup debut in France in 1998 when they lost all three games and scored only one goal.
“With four points, we should logically qualify,” Troussier said.
The clamor to see the game jammed Japan’s mobile phone networks on Friday when millions of people tried to call for 750 tickets put on sale by match organizers.
Still, the crowd of 66,108 was far below the stadium’s capacity of nearly 73,000, underscoring the ticket muddles that have marred an otherwise thrilling, unpredictable competition.
The game was an uncanny repeat of Japan’s opening match against Belgium. The first 45 minutes, littered by fouls, were as forgettable as the second half was pulsating.
Both sides came close as Russia pressed for an equalizer, with Russian substitute Vladimir Beschastnykh blasting wide and Japanese playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata hitting the bar with a thunderous volley.
In Group C, Costa Rica fought back bravely against Turkey to earn a deserved 1-1 draw and set up a nail-biting finish for the second qualifying place.
The result of the match in Inchon, South Korea, means that group leaders Brazil qualified for the second round without kicking a ball and that debutants China are out of the finals.
If Turkey defeat China and Costa Rica are beaten by Brazil in the final games, as form suggests, both teams would have four points and the second qualifying place would be settled on goal difference.
Turkish coach Senol Gunes, who had to lift his team after a controversial 2-1 defeat against Brazil, said he was bitterly disappointed at being held to a draw but was hopeful his team would still make the last 16 of the 32-team tournament.
“We are here at the World Cup after 48 years. We scored our first goal against Brazil and got our first point against Costa Rica. We are confident of a win against China and we will wait for the right result to go through.”
Turkey went ahead after 56 minutes when midfielder Emre Belozoglu’s found the net after his first attempt was blocked by Costa Rican defender Gilberto Martinez.
But Costa Rica refused to give up and squandered a host of good chances before substitute Winston Parks rammed in an 86th minute equalizer.
Parks could have gone one better in the dying seconds when he blazed high and wide of an open goal.
Coach Alexander Guimaraes praised Costa Rica’s character. “My team played a beautiful game with so much power and we were very aggressive and attacked and I am very proud of my team.
“We have four points and we are in a good position and we are going to do our best to get at least another point to make the second phase,” he said.
On day 10 of the month-long tournament, four teams already know they have no chance of going through to the second round — Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Slovenia and China — while Spain are definitely through alongside Brazil.
Earlier, Mexico came back from a goal down to beat tournament newcomers Ecuador 2-1 but still need a point to be sure of reaching the next stage despite a perfect record of two wins.
Playing in blustery conditions in Miyagi, Japan, towering striker Agustin Delgado netted Ecuador’s first-ever World Cup goal after five minutes.
But Mexico drew level in the 28th minute through a Jared Borgetti left-foot volley and, after dominating the game, finished off their fellow Latin Americans through shaven-headed defensive midfielder Gerardo Torrado in the 57th minute.
“In this second victory we had to sweat a lot,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. “It was a serious match and it did turn into an uphill battle.”
Mexico joined Brazil and Spain as only the third of the 32 teams so far to win each of their opening games.
No team in World Cup finals history has failed to reach the second round after winning their first two matches.
But Mexico, who have also beaten Croatia 1-0, could still be pipped on goal difference if they fail to get at least a draw in their final group game against Italy on Thursday.
Italy and Croatia both have three points after Croatia came from a goal down and surprisingly beat Italy 2-1 on Saturday.
