Challenge

Estadio Nacional
Spectators: 49 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Diego Belém took the kick off in the first half of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Costa Rica's zone, Amir Pieng stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Benito Sanz came out of the goal and Amir Pieng tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Costa Rica's Benito Sanz played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Diego Belém in the 5th minute of play. Benito Sanz showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Diego Belém, who was totally free with the ball in the 6th minute. After 7 played minutes Costa Rica got a freekick which was hit by Efrain Moruga. 9 minutes into the match, Diego Belém had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Benito Sanz. Costa Rica's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Diego Belém was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. Diego Belém took the ball and in the 12 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Benito Sanz. Benito Sanz dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-2. Albirex Niigata FC's attentive Amir Pieng managed to snatch the ball when Efrain Moruga made a throw-in in the 16th minute of the game. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Diego Belém in the 16th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Benito Sanz saved Costa Rica from getting behind. After some careless play in the Costa Rica defense, Amir Pieng kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Benito Sanz. The Costa Rica fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Benito Sanz should have stopped the shot. Diego Belém took the ball and in the 21 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Benito Sanz. Benito Sanz dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-4. Benito Sanz took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alexander Tan, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Diego Belém took the ball and in the 29 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Benito Sanz. Benito Sanz dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-5. The audience was convinced that Diego Belém's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Benito Sanz was relentless in the 32nd minute of the game. After 38 played minutes Costa Rica got a freekick which was hit by Efrain Moruga. In the 46th match minute, Costa Rica was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Efrain Moruga to maneuver through the defense.

After some careless play in the Costa Rica defense, Amir Pieng kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Benito Sanz. The Costa Rica fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Benito Sanz should have stopped the shot. In the 56th minute, Diego Belém reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Benito Sanz. The goal made the score 0-8. In the 58th minute Diego Belém shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Benito Sanz saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 64 minutes into the match, Diego Belém had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Benito Sanz. Costa Rica's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Diego Belém was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-10. With a little luck, Costa Rica's Benito Sanz got control of the ball when Diego Belém tried to sneak it across the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Eliseo Noboa in the 73rd minute of play forced Albirex Niigata FC's goalkeeper 俞冰帆 to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Diego Belém could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 79th minute of the match, but Benito Sanz made a huge save. Diego Belém received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 86th minute. Benito Sanz tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Diego Belém took the ball and in the 91 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Benito Sanz. Benito Sanz dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-13. With a little luck, Costa Rica's Benito Sanz got control of the ball when Diego Belém tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 96th minute, Diego Belém got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Albirex Niigata FC played a much better game than Costa Rica and deserved their victory. The Costa Rica players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.