Costa Rica V Bermuda
Friday 21 June 2019 – 02:30 Kick-Off
International, CONCACAF Gold Cup
Pick: Costa Rica Over 3.5 Match Goals – EVENS WilliamHill
Preview
The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup is now well and truly up and running with every team now having played their first game of the tournament. So far there hasn’t been any surprises of real note, but perhaps we could have one here as three-time winners Costa Rica take on debutants Bermuda at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, USA.
It would be a huge upset were the team ranked 174 in the latest FIFA Rankings, Bermuda, to somehow deny a former winner and recent World Cup participant, Costa Rica, from securing maximum points. Even a draw would go down as an historic achievement. This will also be the very first meeting between the two nations.
Costa Rica Preview
Just days after sweeping aside one international lightweight, Costa Rica are presented with another. Little Nicaragua were no match for Gustavo Mastosas’ team a few days ago, running out comfortable 4-0 winners courtesy of goals from Bryan Oviedo, Celso Borges, Alias Aguilar and a sublime team goal finished by Allan Cruz.
It was a match they dominated from to start finish, creating a lot of good openings and limiting their opponents to very little. Another professional, cohesive team performance here would almost certainly lead to a similarly convincing scoreline against a team, on paper at least, poorer in quality than the one prior.
A minor concern may well be their disappointing showings on their travels this year: losses in the USA (2-0) and Peru (1-0) are hardly alarming but the shock 1-0 defeat to Guatemala, who are ranked 145 in the world, most definitely was. The opening game of the group was played in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose, however the remaining games of the tournament will all take place on American soil, which could be a factor at some stage for them.
Bermuda Preview
A squad consisting mainly of players from the Bermudian Premier League, sprinkled with a handful from the lower reaches of the English Football League, made the best imaginable start to their very first Gold Cup adventure.
A goal from defender Dante Leverock on the stroke of half-time meant they were a mere 45 minutes from the biggest result in their country’s history. It was a lead they didn’t keep for very long though, conceding either side of the hour mark to ultimately fall to a 2-1 defeat that will have felt demoralising even if it was to be expected before kick-off.
To score in your very first match of a major tournament is at least one positive to take from that harsh opening day loss, although repeating the same feat against more illustrious opponents second time out would be an even bigger achievement. This is a massive step up in grade, however, for a nation used to only playing teams of similar stature to themselves, those at the very lower end of the FIFA Rankings.
Their only two meaningful encounters in 2019 were in friendlies. A 1-0 victory over Guyana was fairly standard but a heavy 5-0 loss to Cuba, who have been subsequently thrashed 7-0 already this tournament by Mexico, would perhaps suggest it could be a long night in this particular fixture.
Betting Tips
Costa Rica Over 3.5 Total Goals – EVENS WilliamHill
Betting Conclusion
Costa Rica were never troubled by Nicaragua in their first game and their next opponents are even weaker, at least according to the current FIFA ranking. This is unquestionably the biggest game in Bermuda’s footballing history, against an established CONCACAF nation with far more resources, quality in their squad and experience of top level football both domestically and internationally. So this should be another very comfortable outcome.
Bermunda are unlikely to score but a Costa Rica win to nil is only 2/5. Instead, Costa Rica to score 4 or more goals could be a better bet at a healthier price.
