Ace Football previews the World Cup round 1 match between Spain and Costa Rica and offers team stats, betting tips and the latest odds.
The spotlight is on Spain and Costa Rica when they meet in the opening round of the World Cup. The upcoming group stage match kicks off at Al Thumama Stadium this coming Wednesday.
As we are in the opening round of the World Cup group stage, Spain and Costa Rica face a battle to secure their first points of the group stage. Spain bid welcome to Costa Rica as number 7 in the FIFA world ranking, while the latter rank as number 31.
Spain are highly expected to win their group. They are even allowed a genuine dream of seeing the final at World Cup. Costa Rica rank as the hefty favourites with the bookmakers to exit the World Cup before the real fun starts. They don’t have enough quality to cause a surprise.
Position in the World Cup standings: Spain vs Costa Rica
Three points look like a given for Spain, when they open their campaign at Al Thumama Stadium. It would be highly surprising to see them squander points, when regarded as such big favourites. As tournament openers go, Costa Rica couldn’t have been dealt a tougher hand than starting off their World Cup campaign against this opponent. At Al Thumama Stadium, even a small defeat would be regarded as a minor triumph.
Team form: Spain vs Costa Rica
Spain Form
Spain have been a little inconsistent recently, as they beat the Czech Republic by 2-0. Following that up proved too difficult, as they lost 1-2 against Switzerland, before claiming three points in a 0-1 win against Portugal. Spain were able to win seven of their previous 10 games across all tournaments, while drawing two of the games. They suffered defeat in one of these outings.
Costa Rica Form
Costa Rica went unbeaten through their last three matches, which began with a 2-2 draw against South Korea. A 1-2 win against Uzbekistan followed, before they beat Nigeria by 2-0. Costa Rica have been pretty scary, winning eight of their last 10 games across all tournaments, while also managing one draw of the games in the process. They were defeated one time in this run.
Betting stats and facts for Spain and Costa Rica
Here are some facts that might be useful for placing bets on the upcoming game between Spain and Costa Rica. The facts are based on the statistics from the last couple of matches that these teams played across all tournaments.
- Spain have scored in the last 21 matches in a row
- Spain have not lost 13 of the last 15 matches
- Spain have won 4 of the last 5 matches
- In 4 of the last 5 Spain matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 23 of the last 24 Costa Rica matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- Costa Rica have won 8 of the last 10 matches while scoring less than 2.5 goals
- Costa Rica have not lost 12 of the last 13 matches
- Costa Rica have won 8 of the last 10 matches
- Costa Rica have won 8 of the last 10 matches and the sum of goals was under 3.5
Players in form: Spain vs Costa Rica
Pablo Sarabia is the most prolific World Cup scorer for the home team, with two goals recently. Spain will undoubtedly rely on him to shine once again in their upcoming match. Meanwhile, Costa Rica will be looking to Joel Campbell, hoping he can add to his current total of three goals in his latest match.
Betting markets: Spain vs Costa Rica
Full-time result
Spain claimed all three points seven times in their last 10 matches across all tournaments, while also drawing two along the way. They endured defeat in one of the games in this run. Costa Rica won eight of their last 10 games, while drawing one and losing one in this series of matches. Costa Rica remained unbeaten in their last 5 games on the bounce.
Both teams to score
Spain scored the first goal of the match an impressive eight times in the last ten home games. Curiously, Costa Rica only scored the opening goal of the match in three of the last ten away games. Spain managed to open the scoreline in no less than eight of their previous 10 games. Their opponent from Costa Rica performed a similar feat as they scored the opener in seven of their last 10 games.
Total goals
Over 2.5 goals happened in five of Spain’s last ten matches across all tournaments. They pulled off an average of 1.9 goals during this run. Over 2.5 goals happened in three of the last ten outings for Costa Rica, who managed to score 1.5 times in those matches. Spain are on a nice streak of scoring at least once in their previous 21 matches.
Betting prediction: Spain vs Costa Rica
To sum up, the upcoming match between Spain and Costa Rica seems to be a good betting opportunity. Considering the above statements, we have come up with a betting prediction for this World Cup game.
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