Costa Rica v Germany World Cup Group E Betting Guide

The Teams’ Routes to the World Cup

Costa Rica

The national team of Costa Rica does not have any warm-up friendly fixtures or competitive international games arranged yet before the 2022 World Cup kicks off. Having said that, rest assured they will be in preparation and be ready to play Germany. Let us take a look at their form in the last 12 months. Costa Rica has been busy internationally playing 18 fixtures winning 9, drawing 5 and losing 4. That record may not match the best teams in the world but during 2022, they have played 9 and only lost once. Keep that record going and organise some World Cup warm-up fixtures and maybe the Costa Ricans can have the better of the Germans.

Germany

The Germans have remained unbeaten for over one year with their last loss coming at the 2020 UEFA Euro round of 16 against England, where they were beaten 2 – 0. Since then, they have played 13 games, winning 9 and drawing 4, with all the draws occurring in 2022. Their last game was played in June when they smashed the Italians 5 – 2 in the Nations League and their excellent form is sending out a message that they will be ready to compete in the 2022 World Cup. Two further Nations League fixtures are arranged for September when Germany will play Hungary and England.

Costa Rica has only played Germany once before and that was in the 2006 World Cup when the Germans ran out 4 – 2 winners in a group stage match, qualifying for the round of 16 while Costa Rica was eliminated from the tournament.

Current Odds at mr.play

The Costa Ricans may not be favourites to win this match and longer odds will be offered for them to win. Alternatively, take the shorter odds available right here at mr.play for Germany to take the match to the Costa Ricans and come out victorious. Another option will be to place a bet where you anticipate the outcome will end in a draw. There is a massive amount of betting options here at mr.play, meaning there is a perfect wager for everyone in the group and knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup.

Team Overviews & Player Profiles

Costa Rica

The last game of the group against Germany will mean a testing time for the Costa Rican defence. Experienced centre-back Óscar Duarte will need to be on top form to help keep the Germans at bay. Currently playing for Saudi Arabian club Al-Wehda, this will be an advantage when coming to play in the conditions to be experienced in Qatar. He has also played for Levante and Club Brugge where he won the Belgian Pro League in 2015/2016 and the Belgian Cup in 2015. With Costa Rica, Duarte has played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and he has played 69 times for his country, scoring 3 goals. It was the 2014 World Cup where Costa Rica had their best tournament reaching the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, Duarte could not play having been sent off in the round of 16 against Greece for two yellow cards. However, he was a major contributor to the Costa Rican’s success in 2014.   

Partnering Óscar Duarte in central defence will be Francisco Calvo. Not the tallest of players for a centre-back, he does seem to be getting better with age and has a long relationship playing with Duarte for Costa Rica. His professional club career has seen him play in the Costa Rican Primera División with Saprissa, American MLS with Chicago Fire and more recently, he has earned himself a contract in Turkey with Konyaspor. In 2018, he made it into the MLS All-Star XI and he was rewarded for good form in 2021 by being included in the CONCACAF Nation League Finals Best XI. Making his Costa Rican debut in 2011, he represented them in the 2018 World Cup and has collected 74 caps scoring 8 goals, proving he is also a danger in the opposition box when he has the chance to get forward.

Germany

The Germans will be looking to their midfield and attack to be firing on all cylinders to overcome a tricky tie against Costa Rica. Leon Goretzka will be a force to be reckoned with in central midfield with his superb ball control, passing, heading and ability to score goals. A player that has been compared with German legends Lothar Matthäus and Michael Ballack he has won the German Bundesliga four times with Bayern Munich and the UEFA Champions League in 2020. With Germany, he won the Confederations Cup in 2017 and has now represented them 44 times scoring a healthy 14 goals.

Further strengthening the German midfield with all the experience any team could wish for is Thomas Müller. An outstanding player, he has over 400 appearances for Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga an astonishing 11 times. He has made more assists than any other player in the Bundesliga. He will add to the experience the Germans possess, as Müller has played in the 2010/2014 and 2018 World Cups as well as the 2012/2016 and 2020 UEFA European Championships. A 2014 World Cup winner, he has been there and done it collecting 116 international caps and scoring a healthy 44 goals. Thomas Müller is the 5th most capped German international and the 7th highest goal-scorer of all time. Half a dozen more international caps and he will surpass Bastien Schweinsteiger while scoring three more goals for Germany will see him level with greats Rudi Völler and Jürgen Klinsmann. He will bring versatility to the German midfield with his positioning, teamwork, stamina and work rate, not to mention he creates opportunities and scores goals.

A Potential Battle with Plenty of Excitement 

Costa Rica needs to take their winning mentality in 2022 into the game against the Germans. Showing any respect or fear will see them rolled over; bearing in mind the quality of players Germany has including Leon Goretzka and Thomas Müller.