The nine-time winners had 74% of possession and 19 shots but could not break through in their Group D opener.

Marquinhos had the ball in the net in the 30th minute after he tapped in at the back post following a Raphinha free-kick but the Video Assistant Referee ruled it out for offside.

Brazil boss Dorival Jr brought youngsters Endrick, who has signed for Real Madrid, and Savio off the bench but they could not find a winner.

Lucas Paqueta hit the woodwork just after the hour mark and spurned two late chances from good positions at the SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park.

The West Ham United midfielder acknowledged his side must improve when they play Paraguay on Saturday (02:00 BST).

“We played a great game, we fought until the end, I had three chances myself, we were frustrated not to win, but we leave with confidence,” Paqueta said.

“We played our game, we have to improve our finishing, myself in particular, so that we can win.”

Costa Rica coach Gustavo Alfaro made a film analogy to emphasise how much his side had been written off before the match had started.

“We were Bruce Willis in ‘The Sixth Sense’, where the only one that did not know he was dead was him, right?” he said.

“Well, everyone thought we were dead before the movie started in our case.”

James rolls back the years

Colombia took the early initiative in Group D with a 2-1 win over Paraguay as attacking midfielder James Rodriguez produced an eye-catching performance.

The 32-year-old, who has played just a handful of minutes for Brazilian club Sao Paulo in the two months leading into the Copa America, had a hand in both of Colombia’s goals.

Rodriguez flighted a pinpoint cross to the far post that picked out Daniel Munoz to head in Colombia’s opener in the 32nd minute.

The former Real Madrid and Everton playmaker provided another assist just before half-time with a free-kick that was glanced in by Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma.

Brighton’s Julio Enciso pulled a goal back for Paraguay in the 69th minute with an angled volley but Colombia held on to claim the points.

Colombia play Costa Rica in their second group game on Friday (23:00 BST) before facing Brazil on 2 July.

Lushomo Mweemba opened the scoring for Zambia inside the first three minutes and Barbra Banda added a second from the spot midway through the first half.

Costa Rica’s Melissa Herrera pulled a goal shortly after the break, but Racheal Kundananji completed the win, netting a third in injury time.

Both sides had already been eliminated after two matches.

Zambia had lost 5-0 against both Japan and Spain, but their campaign at least ends on a high.

They made a brilliant start in Hamilton as Mweemba scored their first World Cup goal, volleying home Avell Chitundu’s corner after two minutes and 11 seconds.

Skipper Banda doubled their advantage from the spot – the 1000th goal in the Women’s World Cup – after her shirt was pulled by Katherine Alvarado in the penalty area.

Costa Rica, who were also chasing a first World Cup win in just their second tournament, rallied and struck the crossbar through Maria Paula Coto just before the break.

After the restart Amelia Valverde’s team halved the deficit with Herrera nodding in Valeria del Campo’s header across goal.

An equaliser seemed inevitable with Zambian keeper Catherine Musonda catching Priscilla Chinchilla in the box, but a lengthy video assistant referee review ruled out a penalty kick due to an offside in the build-up.

Herrera then found the net for a second time midway through the second half, but her strike from a tight angle was ruled out for offside.

With Costa Rica pushing for an equaliser, Banda’s disguised pass sent through substitute Kundananji who sealed a famous win.

Zambia finished third in Group C, ahead of Costa Rica in fourth.

Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino both scored in the space of three first-half minutes to ease the 2011 champions to three points.

Japan will be the first side to secure their place in the knockout stages if Spain earn at least a point against Zambia later.

Costa Rica will be eliminated from the World Cup if Spain avoid defeat.

Japan get the job done

Aoba Fujino scored her first senior goal for Japan to put them 2-0 ahead against Costa Rica

Since stunning the football world by beating the United States in the 2011 final, Japan have underwhelmed on the global stage.

But following the Tokyo Olympics – where Japan were eliminated in the quarter-finals on home soil – Futoshi Ikeda was appointed manager and has put together a side which has impressed with its attacking possession-focused football.

Japan will face much tougher tests than Costa Rica and Zambia in their opening game, and they will need to be more clinical than they were at Dunedin Stadium. However, two wins and seven goals cannot be ignored.

This game was settled by the 27th minute – first Naomoto found the far left corner with a low shot from the left of the box, before Fujino shrugged off a tackle on the right wing, cut into the box and beat keeper Daniela Solera at the near post for her first Japan goal.

It was a moment of redemption for Fujino following a bizarre incident on 15 minutes where she prevented team-mate Risa Shimizu scoring with an inadvertent sliding tackle as both went to finish a chance.

Solera shines but Costa Rica outclassed

Costa Rica were outclassed here just as they were in their opening loss to Spain.

Nervous in possession, they were not technically able enough to play out from the back and inaccurate with long balls, constantly ceding possession to their opponents.

Solera – who has now made a tournament-high 19 stops at this World Cup – was once again the only factor between Costa Rica and a truly embarrassing scoreline.

Japan’s 2-1 win against Spain would have eliminated Germany anyway, but Hansi Flick’s side needed three points to give themselves any chance of reaching the last 16.

They completed their part of the bargain, but it was to no avail as the four-time champions finished third in the group and were eliminated on goal difference.

Germany were in complete control and in front through Serge Gnabry’s 10th-minute header only for Costa Rica to turn the match on its head to raise the remarkable possibility of Spain also going out.

Yeltsin Tejeda equalized after Germany keeper Manuel Neuer pushed out Kendall Waston’s header in the 58th minute before Juan Pablo Vargas bundled in a second 12 minutes later.

At that stage, Costa Rica were going through with Japan, and Spain were heading for the exit.

It would have capped one of the most astonishing nights in World Cup history, but Germany substitute Kai Havertz restored a measure of normality to proceedings with two clinical finishes to extinguish Costa Rica’s hopes of springing a major shock.

Substitute Niclas Fullkrug added a last-minute fourth to confirm victory, but it will be of no consolation as Germany failed to reach the knockout stage of the tournament for the second time in succession.

Ferran Torres scored twice in what was a stroll from start to finish for the 2010 champions.

But the pick of their seven goals was Gavi’s outstanding volleyed finish, with the Barcelona teenager using the outside of his foot to steer a dropping ball home via the post and become the youngest World Cup goalscorer since Pele.

This has been a tournament full of surprises, with Spain’s Group E rivals Germany the latest victims with their late defeat by Japan earlier on Wednesday, but there was never a hint of another shock happening here.

La Roja were completely dominant from the start, with Costa Rica unable to live with their pace, movement and precision when they came forward.

The Euro 2020 semi-finalists went close twice in the first 10 minutes, with Dani Olmo and Marco Asensio both firing wide, but they did not have to wait long to take the lead.

Olmo had work to do to when he met Gavi’s delicate chipped pass into the area, but he used his strength to hold off Oscar Duarte then span into space to expertly slot past the onrushing Keylor Navas.

It was an ominous start for Costa Rica and things quickly got worse for the 2014 quarter-finalists, who were the last team to qualify for Qatar.

Again Spain advanced up the middle of the pitch unopposed, before the ball was spread left to Jordi Alba and his driven cross was met powerfully by Asensio – although Navas should have done far better with his attempted save.

Victory was sealed just after the half-hour mark, when Torres sent Navas the wrong way from the spot after Duarte had hacked at Alba in the box.

But there was more misery to come for Costa Rica after the break, with Spain still hungry for goals.

Torres capitalised on more poor defending to make it 4-0, collecting a loose ball after bursting into the box and then calmly firing home.

Gavi’s superb strike added gloss to an already glittering display, with the 18-year-old finding a finish to match his impressive performance after meeting a cross from substitute Alvaro Morata.

Another substitute, Carlos Soler, made it six after Navas failed to deal with a cross, and Morata rounded off the scoring in injury time after playing a one-two with Olmo.

The Falconets lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinal on Sunday, August 20, with a 2-0 score.

The Nigerian team set off from Costa Rica to their home country on Monday following their elimination from the competition.

They left Costa Rica to Colombia from where they connected to Istanbul.

According to Nigerian journalist, Sarafina Napoleon, the team left the host country very early but faced over 19 hours layover at the airport in Istanbul,

The team enjoyed an impressive group stage win in Costa Rica before losing to the Dutch in the knockout round.

The Princesses started on a high by creating some decent chances in search of the opener but their effort fell flat as they failed to take their chances.

Doris Boaduwaa laid a great pass to Suzzy Dede Teye on the right-hand side but her flying shot scaled over the post in the 19^th minute.

A great team effort saw Mukarama Abdulai come up with a shot at goal in the 38^th minute but she missed the post by inches.

Japan also had their share of the possession and created some chances in the last few minutes of the first half but Ghana goalkeeper Cynthia Konlaan was on hand to prevent them from taking the lead as the first half ended goalless.

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Ghana conceded a penalty after the break and Hamano Maika made no mistake by converting from the spot to give Japan the lead.

Ghana pushed for the equaliser but conceded another penalty in the 72^nd minute and Japan extended their lead through Hamano Maika – her second of the day.

Ophelia Serwaa Amponsah and Rahama Jafaru came on for Mukrama Abdulai and Suzzy Dede Teye respectively but the switches made no meaningful impact as Japan held on to win 2-0 to progress to the quarter-finals.

The Black Princesses have no point after losing two matches and will play the Netherlands in their last Group D game at the Estadio Nacional De Costa Rica on Wednesday, August 17 at 22:00 GMT.

Somehow, this wasn’t a buzzkill for Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera.

He accidentally swallowed a wasp during a live TV interview with reporters on Thursday, then laughed it off like it was NBD.

Instead of gagging, the president was in stitches about his stunning snack.

“I ate it. I ate, I ate the wasp,” he declared almost proudly before taking a swig of water. “Pure protein!”

The woman standing behind him looked far more horrified.

Naturally, online viewers had a field day over his quick bite. “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon even featured the clip during his opening monologue on Monday.