Spain v Costa Rica: World Cup Betting Preview
By Dan King under the supervision of Lucas Mondelo
Spain Summary
Spain’s mood in the camp is one of determination and focus. There is a strong sense of belief the team is on a steep upward curve.
There is a strong Barcelona element to the young and exciting group which has undergone a facelift under Luis Enrique. Many outside of the Catalan region however see the coach biasing towards Barcelona and acting anti-Real Madrid.
As a result of Enrique’s chosen squad and predicted starting XIs, there is a sense in the country that the support and attention of the nation will not be like in previous tournaments. Astonishingly, many Real Madrid fans have promised they will be supporting France over their country as a result!
Luis Enrique Martínez added one more Barcelona player (Balde) to the group last week. This after Valencia attacking left-back Gaya was ruled out. Of the remaining group, both Hugo Guillamón and Morata are doubtful for the opening game,
Costa Rica Summary
Costa Rica begins the competition with good spirits and their target is to get out of the group.
The mood and team morale are good but in terms of preparation, there was a hiccup when due to bureaucratic issues in the middle east. This was as they had to cancel an important preparation friendly against Iraq in the week building up to the opener.
Costa Rica are notoriously involved in low-scoring games and bases their success around defending well and harming opponents on breaks. This tactic worked well in their most recent friendly games, which saw more entertainment and goals than their qualification stage.
Costa Rica understands but doesn’t fear being an outsider to progress from the group. Inside the camp, there is confidence that they can get positive results from both Spain and Germany, along with beating group outsiders Japan.
Costa Rica will have a full-strength squad to select from against the Spanish, including ex-Madrid keeper Keylor Navas who returned to training on the weekend as is declared fit.
Betting Analysis
1×2
The outright 1×2 market has Spain as a massive favourite to win the game @ 1.18. Costa Rica would take the draw with delight and that will be their most realistic aim, priced @ 7.70. if the outsiders are to grab a shock win then punters would be rewarded with a big price of 18.00
Asian handicap market
The Spanish are given the privilege of being a huge favourite in the Asian handicap market, with Spain -2 priced @ 1.840. This looks like the market is overrated the young Spanish side slightly. Costa Rica +2 @ 2.030 looks like a smart play here, they are strong in defence and have the attributes to make this a very tough game.
Under/Over
The under/over total goals market is set at extremely high for an opening game, over 2.75 goal is at 1.800 and under 2.75 @ 2.03.
Costa Rica will be very defensive-minded and try to frustrate Spain and score first. How open the game becomes will depend on the timing of the first goal should it go to the Spanish.
The market seems to offer value on under 2.75 goals pre-game, but in running betting opportunities could be found for punters as Spain will take massive risks if behind and not sit back if they score relatively early.
