Costa Rica vs New Zealand Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 11/06/2022, 01:21  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 11/06/2022 at 01:21 in World Cup Predictions

There are two slots for the 2022 World Cup still up for grabs. Costa Rica and New Zealand will be fighting it out for one of them, in the Intercontinental playoffs to be staged in Doha, Qatar. Costa Rica armed up for this game with a 2-0 win over Martinique in the CONCACAF Nations League – their third clean sheet in five matches. It was also the third time for them scoring twice in the last five matches. In the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, they finished narrowly outside the automatic qualification slots and go into this game unbeaten in the last seven World Cup qualification matches. They have five clean sheets in their last six World Cup qualification matches, which isn’t a surprise, having Keylor Navas, one of the world’s best goalkeepers. Apart from their defence, another big quality they take to this game is their patience in matches, and this has to an extent resulted in low-scoring games. Eight of their last 10 games have ended in under 2.5 goals.

New Zealand didn’t have a tough task in the Oceania qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. This will be their biggest test by far. In their group matches, they registered three wins in three and scored 12 times, while conceding just one goal. They proceeded to the qualification playoffs where they scored six times in the two matches to set up this game. Outside the Oceania region, New Zealand aren’t the strongest of forces around. They have failed to score a goal in the last two matches, friendlies against Peru and Oman. They’ve struggled a lot in matches against CONCACAF and CONMEBOL opposition in such qualifiers. In the last four intercontinental qualifiers they’ve gone winless, losing to Peru and Mexico.