Who will grab the last World Cup ticket?
The German national team had to wait a long time to find out who will be their third group opponent alongside Japan and Spain at the World Cup in Qatar. On Tuesday, that decision will be made, the last in the qualifiers for the upcoming World Cup. Costa Rica and New Zealand are fighting for the last free slot. It’s all or nothing at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan.
For the Cafeteros of Costa Rica, it would be their sixth appearance at a World Cup and the first time the team from Central America has qualified for the title matches three times in a row.
The All Whites, however, are looking to seize the moment and qualify for a third World Cup after 1982 and 2010. Football is not the number one sport in New Zealand and perhaps that is why coach Danny Hay lacks width in his squad. We think that in the duel Costa Rica vs. New Zealand the prediction should go to a successful qualification of the Cafeteros.
But it’s only one game, comparable to a cup match or a grand final. A surprise is by no means out of the question, even if the odds should be more like 70:30 for the Central Americans. However, an intense match with only few goal-scoring scenes can be expected. It might therefore make sense to place a bet on sub-par goals between Costa Rica and New Zealand
Costa Rica – Statistics & current form
Luis Fernando Suarez was already coach of the Ecuadorian team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. His big goal now is to go to the World Cup with Costa Rica and experience that feeling once again. He has been in charge of the Cafeteros for just over a year now, and it has to be said that the Colombian would have a big part to play should they still manage to qualify.
Strong development under Suarez
In the CONCACAF zone, Costa Rica were already almost down. It was only in the last few metres that they managed to get past Panama and qualify for the play-offs. In the last nine games, they have only lost one match and won seven. Therefore, in this match between Costa Rica and New Zealand, we are mainly looking at the odds for a Central American win.
Luis Fernando Suarez’s side have played two matches in the CONCACAF Nations League recently. The first was a 2-0 defeat in Panama, but they were able to cope with that after their tour de force in World Cup qualifying. A week ago, Costa Rica won 2-0 against Martinique, with Joel Campbell and Francisco Calvo scoring the goals.
Costa Rica have six players in their squad who have already played in the last two World Cups and know what is important in the decisive qualifying matches. Keylor Navas or Bryan Ruiz, with their experience, are just two of the Cafeteros’ mainstays. Cristian Gamboa from VfL Bochum, by the way, is not part of the squad for the important play-off match.
Predicted line-up of Costa Rica:
Navas – Oviedo, Calvo, Duarte, Martinez – Tejeda, Borges – Torres, Venegas, Ruiz – Campbell – Coach: Suarez
Last matches played by Costa Rica:
CONCACAF Nations League A Grp. 2
05/06/2022 – Costa Rica 2 – 0 Martinicka
03/06/2022 – Panama 2 – 0 Costa Rica
World Cup Qualifiers CONCACAF Finals
31/03/2022 – Costa Rica 2 – 0 USA
28/03/2022 – El Salvador 1 – 2 Costa Rica
25/03/2022 – Costa Rica 1 – 0 Canada
New Zealand – Statistics & current form
There is a banner in the All Whites’ briefing room featuring the three legends Steve Sumner, Wynton Rufer and Ryan Nelsen, who are invoked before every match to hark back to the great days of New Zealand football. Once again, perhaps New Zealand’s top three footballers will be called upon for succour ahead of Monday’s match at Al Rayyan.
Winning Oceania into the play-offs
At least the Kiwis have made it to the intercontinental playoffs once before, although that’s no great feat given the competition in the Oceania qualifying zone. Therefore, the last results should not be overrated, because victories against Fiji, New Caledonia or the Solomon Islands should be mandatory for the All Whites. Nevertheless, New Zealand have lost only one of their last seven matches.
On Tuesday, a much tougher opponent awaits and therefore our tendency between Costa Rica and New Zealand is to predict a victory for the Cafeteros. The All Whites have played two test matches, first conceding a 1-0 defeat to Peru. Now, the subsequent 0-0 draw against Oman was not a compelling encouragement for Tuesday’s match.
The New Zealanders’ game is tailored to captain Chris Wood in particular. The Newcastle United attacker is the star of the Kiwi team. One man who is expected to help determine the All Whites’ fortunes in the future is out through injury. Sapreet Singh, in the service of Bayern Munich and most recently on loan from Jahn Regensburg, will be keeping his fingers crossed from his home sofa.
Predicted line-up of New Zealand:
Marinovic – Smith, Boxall, Reid, Tuiloma – Barbarouses, Rojas, Lewis, Bell, Garbett – Wood – Coach: Hay
Last matches played by New Zealand:
Friendly match
10/06/2022 – New Zealand 0 – 0 Oman
05/06/2022 – Peru 1 – 0 New Zealand
WM Qualification OFC finale
30/03/2022 – Solomon Islands 0 – 5 New Zealand
28/03/2022 – New Zealand 1 – 0 Tahiti
World Cup Qualification OFC Grp. B
24/03/2022 – New Zealand 7 – 1 New Caledonia
Costa Rica – New Zealand Direct comparison / H2H balance
It’s not like teams from different continental regions cross paths on a regular basis. Qualifying matches are usually cancelled and otherwise there is almost only one World Cup left. As a result, Costa Rica and New Zealand have only met once in the history books.
In March 2007, there was a test match between these two national teams. The Cafeteros gave the visitors no chance in San Jose, leading 2-0 after 20 minutes with goals from Alvaro Saborio and Alonso Solis. After the changeover, Bryan Ruiz, who is still in the squad 15 years later, made it 3-0 before Alvaro Saborio again scored a penalty to make the final score 4-0.
Costa Rica – New Zealand tip
Costa Rica have some decisive advantages on their side ahead of the crucial match in Al Rayyan. Luis Fernando Suarez’s side have many experienced players who have played in World Cups and know what matters in such matches. They also play against strong teams on a regular basis, which is extremely important for the development of a team.
New Zealanders don’t live in a bubble, but games against teams from the South Pacific don’t necessarily move a team forward. Besides, there are other sports that have a greater standing.
The Central Americans have made a big leap under Luis Fernando Suarez and have delivered outstanding results in recent qualifiers. If they can just manage to keep that up on Tuesday, then their World Cup ticket should be almost a formality. That is why we have decided to play the betting odds on a Costa Rican victory between Costa Rica and New Zealand.
