Costa Rica vs Panama Prediction & Betting Tips - CONCACAF Nations League

Prediction published on 16/11/2023, 13:46  by Devesh Jaganath in Football Predictions

Panama will be hoping to continue their solid form in the CONCACAF Nations League when they travel to face Costa Rica on Friday. The hosts were one of four pre-seeded teams in the competition and earned a bye into the last eight, while the visitors topped Group A with ten points. Costa Rica have improved significantly over the last few years. They had a solid showing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup earlier this year and reached the quarter-finals, where Mexico beat them 2-0. Since then, Los Ticos have played two friendlies, beating Saudi Arabia 3-1 before losing 4-1 to UAE back in September. That defeat, though, was their fifth in their last six home games. The hosts have also lost each of their last three matches against this opponent and have won only once in their last six meetings. Despite this, they are the marginal favourites, according to the bookies’ odds. 

Similarly, Panama have also come on leaps and bounds over the last few years. They finished atop League A Group A with 10 points and were the only team in the group that were unbeaten in their four matches. The visitors beat Martinique, Curacao and Guatemala during the group stages and only dropped two points in the competition. They also averaged over two goals per match across their four fixtures. With those results, Panama are now on a five-match winning streak. The only loss they have conceded in their last ten matches was in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, where they were beaten 1-0 by Mexico. Los Canaleros are on an upward trajectory and certainly cannot be written out of this one just yet.