England vs Costa Rica Prediction & Betting Tips - International Friendlies

Prediction published on 04/06/2018, 15:30  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 08/06/2018 at 03:43 in Football Predictions

It was a game of two halves for England on Saturday as they beat Nigeria 2-1. They were impressive in the first half while their opponents looked dreadful and went into the break 2-0 up. Within a couple of minutes of the second half beginning, Nigeria got a goal back and they looked the better side. England do tend to switch off at times and don't seem able to keep going at the same level throughout a game and that's why they aren't real contenders in Russia.  It'll be interesting to see the line-up that Gareth Southgate chooses for this game and it's possible he might give players like Rashford and Welbeck a go from the start. England will be keen to get a win here particularly after failing to beat the Costa Ricans in the last World Cup.

Costa Rica had lost four of their last five games before they finally got back on track last Sunday with a 3-0 home win over Northern Ireland. They have a tough group in Russia with Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland to play so they need to find some form. They had 62 percent of the possession on Sunday and created 20 goal chances but will do well to get anywhere near that against an England side that has only conceded two goals in their last seven games and one of those was a penalty. The last five Costa Rica away games have seen them lose four times with the only win being in Scotland. It's interesting to note that two of their recent defeats have been by England group members Tunisia and Panama. England should be able to get a win in this game but perhaps best not to bet too much with the chances of plenty of changes being made by both teams.