Brazil take on Costa Rica in the round 1 match of Copa America group stage. The match will be played on Tuesday, June 25th at SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA).
After Argentina, the main favorite for the tournament, Brazil, another strong contender for the trophy, starts their Copa America journey. The "Pentacampeões" aim to reclaim the trophy after five years. In their group, the Brazilians are expected to finish in first place. Yes, there's a strong Colombia team in the mix, but Dorival Júnior's squad should comfortably handle Paraguay and Costa Rica. In recent friendlies against Mexico (3-2), Spain (3-3), England (1-0), and the USA (1-1), Brazil has shown that their attacking capabilities are in good shape. However, given that this is an official tournament, the team is likely to pay more attention to their defense. I believe that in their first group stage match, Brazil will have no trouble securing a win against Costa Rica.
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Costa Rica's best performance in the Copa America has been reaching the quarterfinals, which they achieved twice in the early 2000s. The last time they participated in this tournament was in 2016, but they failed to advance to the playoffs. Back then, their group included Paraguay and Colombia, with the USA instead of Brazil completing the quartet. I don't think "Los Ticos" have much chance of making it to the playoffs in this tournament. I predict they will at best finish third in their group. Recently, the team has been accustomed to playing against sides like Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Grenada, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Yes, they did play two recent friendlies against South American teams, losing to Argentina (1-3) but holding Uruguay to a draw (0-0). However, friendlies should not be taken as seriously as official matches.
Brazil is one of the main favorites to win the tournament. For Costa Rica, simply making it out of the group would be a significant achievement. The teams are objectively at different levels, and unless something extraordinary happens, the "Pentacampeões" should start their Copa America campaign with a comfortable win. However, I'm not expecting a high-scoring match. The tournament is long, and it's important to manage resources wisely. Additionally, Brazil has shown in recent years that they can play pragmatically in official matches. While Costa Rica is clearly outmatched in terms of quality, they are not pushovers. They are unlikely to pose much of a threat offensively but are capable of defending deep and minimizing the scoreline. My prediction is a Brazil win combined with a total under 4.5 goals (P1 + TM 4.5).
Prediction for the match: Brazil to win and under 4.5 scored goals.
