In their final group match of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Germany and Costa Rica are set to lock horns at the Al Bayt Stadium with a spot in the knockout-stages at stake for both the sides. Germany is lying at the bottom of Group E following the 1-1 draw with Spain when it earned its only point of the tournament. Meanwhile Costa Rica gave itself a big shot in the arm to their round-of-16 hopes after snatching a priceless 1-0 victory over Japan to occupy 3rd place in Group E at the moment.
Germany now has zero chance of finishing at the top of its group, yet the bookmakers are still overwhelmingly in favour of Germany progressing further in the World Cup. In contrast, Costa Rica has been afforded surprisingly little chance of getting through even though a draw could be enough to seal their passage to knockout-phase. The previous meeting between Germany and Costa Rica came in the opening match of the 2006 World Cup when Germany took a 4-2 win against Costa Rica on home-turf.
Read EagleBet’s top FIFA World Cup 2022 betting predictions and tips below.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Betting Predictions – Sponsored by Cyber Bet
Costa Rica
Cyber Bet Betting Odds: 20.6
Last 5 Matches Performance: D W W L W
Team Analysis
Placed 31st in the current FIFA Rankings, Costa Rica is the lowest ranked team in one of the most competitive groups of Qatar 2022. Costa Rica is making its 5th appearance at a World Cup and has qualified for the 3rd time in succession after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Costa Rica is led by head-coach Luis Fernando Suárez who took charge in June 2021 and he has since enjoyed a superb spell with Costa Rica by picking up 15 wins with just 6 losses in 26 matches.
After ending on the wrong-end of a 7-0 drubbing against Spain in their opening fixture, Costa Rica deserves immense credit for delivering a gritty performance in the 1-0 win over Japan in what was essentially a must-win game. Their opponents had the greater share of possession and produced more than triple their number of attempts but Cotsta Rica stayed organised defensively and kept probing on the counter and its efforts were rewarded with a late winning-goal which kept it alive and kicking in the tournament.
Following the hammering defeat to Spain, Luis Fernanadez Suárez shifted his tactics to a 3-4-2-1 system and he will probably hold the same formation after reaping the benefits in the previous match. Keylor Navas may be past his peak years but he remains the no.1 in goal for Costa Rica. However, key centre-back Francisco Calvo is suspended after picking up his 2nd yellow-card of the tournament and Juan PabloVargas seems the likely replacement to form the 3-man defensive-line with Óscar Duarte and Kendall Waston.
Having found a good balance to the side in the last match, Luis Fernandez Suárez might refrain from changing any personnel in the other areas of the pitch. Therefore Yeltsin Tejeda and Celso Borges, their record appearance-holder with 157 caps, will form the vastly experienced central-midfield pairing. Former Everton fullback Bryan Oviedo will start on the left-wing with Keysher Fuller on the right. Joel Campbell and Gerson Torres will be the two supporting-strikers behind the centre-forward Anthony Contreras.
Probable starting XI: Keylor Navas (gk), Óscar Duarte, Kendall Watson, Juan Pablo Vargas, Keysher Fuller, Bryan Oviedo, Celso Borges, Yeltsin Tejeda, Gerson Torres, Joel Campbell, Anthony Contreras.
Germany
Cyber Bet Betting Odds: 1.10
Last 5 Matches Performance: L D W L D
Team Analysis
As the no.11 side in the world, Germany is the heavy favourite with the bookies being ranked 20 places above its opponents according to the latest FIFA Rankings. However, Germany presently looks light years away from its best form having only taken 1 point from its opening 2 matches of Qatar 2022. With Germany now in a worse situation than it was 4 years ago in Russia, head-coach Hansi Flick must now lift Germany for this must-win clash as failure will ensure a 2nd successive World Cup exit at the group-stage.
After slipping up badly against Japan in the first match, Germany came up with a more resolute performance against the 2010 champions Spain even though it was the 2nd best side for much of that contest. Germany was clearly outplayed in this game as it only had 35% possession although it was able to take 11 attempts on the opposition goal. Still, Germany was gaping at another early World Cup exit before a late equaliser allowed it to earn a point from the match and stay alive in the competition by a bare thread.
Hansi Flick had to ring in a few changes to the team before it was able to pull back the equalising-goal and it might shed light on how he may line up Germany for the next game. On paper, the tactics will remain mostly the same and the team will be set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Manuel Neuer as the goalkeeper of the side. Niklas Süle and Antonio Rüdiger could stay as the centre-back partnership from the last match and Thilo Kehrer will take the right-back role with David Raum on the left-side of the defence.
Leon Goretzka may continue at the heart of the midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich with both players delivering industrious performances in the last match. Serge Gnabry will keep his spot on the right-wing but Thomas Müller and Ilkay Gündogan may have to drop to the bench if Leroy Sané gets the nod on the left-wing and Jamal Musiala moves to the no.10 position. Niclas Füllkrug is the only genuine centre-forward in the squad and he must be handed a starting-berth after knocking in the equaliser as a substitute.
Probable Starting XI: Manuel Neuer (gk), Niklas Süle, Antonio Rüdiger, Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala, Niclas Füllkrug.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Top Betting Tips
Winning Margin: Germany 2 Goals 2.74 on Cyber Bet
Costa Rica has only 1 goal in the 2 matches and it will have to play this game without its most experienced defender. Despite being in lacklustre form, Germany still has a much stronger team on both fronts and should therefore nick the victory by a couple of goals.
Both Halves Over 1.5: Yes at 2.75 on Cyber Bet
Tactically, this should be a pretty open match with a lot of scoring opportunities as both Gemany and Costa Rica are chasing a victory in order to secure their route to the knockout-stage. Also, both Germany and Costa Rica look vulnerable defensively so it should be a fairly high-scoring game.
Both Teams to Score: Yes at 2.40 on Cyber Bet
With its star-studded line-up, Germany is widely expected to score at least a couple of goals against an inferior opposition. But it has not earned a clean-sheet from its opening 2 matches of the World Cup tournament therefore Costa Rica should open its account in this game.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Extra Betting Tips
2nd Half Both Teams to Score: Yes at 3.72 on Cyber Bet
Highest Scoring Half: Equal at 4.29 on Cyber Bet
1st Goal Period: 31-45 Mins at 5.06 on Cyber Bet
Match Prediction
Costa Rica 1-3 Germany at 7.44 on Cyber Bet
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