Costa Rica take on the visitors Panama in the round 6 match of CONCACAF Nations League – League A. The match will be played on Wednesday, March 29th at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (San José).
Costa Rica have been showing pleasant stability, for a national team that is not considered a powerhouse even by regional standards. However, last year they played in the World Cup for the second time. Yes, Keylor Navas and his team were not able to show anything like the breakthrough of 2014. Moreover, it all started with 7 goals that the experienced goalkeeper conceded to the Spaniards. But, on the other hand, the Costa Ricans were able to beat Japan, albeit only 1-0. And in the final match of the Mundial, they fought against Germany. However, the Germans won and both sides eventually went home from Qatar after the group stage. Now they can switch to a regional tournament. Last year, the "bicolor" played two matches there, winning against the underdog Martinique, but losing 0-2 to Panama without much of a fight. They started this "window" with a trip to the underdog of this trio. Perhaps they underestimated their opponent: they quickly conceded a goal and then, with a man advantage, struggled to score for a long time. However, in the end, they still managed to win thanks to goals in the 88th and 93rd minutes.
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Panama are generally considered much lower than their next opponent. They struggled for a long time to make it to the World Cup. Their debut was in 2018, and, like many humble newcomers, the representative of Central America lost all 3 of their matches on the Russian arenas. There were hopes of repeating that result in the new qualifying cycle. But it turned out that Costa Rica was stronger and won the competition for 4th place, quite confidently, by 4 points. Well, it can be said that revenge, albeit relative, took place: in early June 2022, they won 2-0 against the Costa Ricans on their home field. But then, after winning 5-0 against Martinique on their home field, they seemed to underestimate their opponent, and were limited to just a scoreless draw on the road 3 days later. However, it will all come down to a direct confrontation now. And it's interesting that Thomas Christiansen has essentially called up 2 different full-fledged teams now. First, an experimental team played against Argentina - by the way, quite decently. And now, the main performers have joined in, led by Murillo from "Anderlecht".
Prior to the mentioned 2-0 win in the Nations League last year, Costa Ricans were stronger in the World Cup qualifying rounds. They played to a 0-0 draw away and won at home, thanks to Ruiz's single goal. Still, "Los Ticos" are playing at home and need a result. We recommend betting that Keylor Navas and company will be able to win.
Prediction for the match: Costa Rica to win.
