Japan v Costa Rica World Cup Group E Betting Guide

The Teams’ Routes to the World Cup

Japan

Qatar is the 7th time Japan has qualified for the World Cup finals. It took until the France 1998 World Cup for Japan to qualify for the first time and they have not looked back, qualifying for every tournament since. They made the round of 16 on home soil in the 2002 World Cup jointly held in Japan and South Korea and also the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. In their last appearance in Russia 2018, they made the round of 16 once again. They beat Columbia, drew against Senegal and lost against Poland to qualify from the group stage. They were knocked out by Belgium 3 – 2 in the round of 16. Japan will need to win this game if they want to have a chance of having their best World Cup to try and reach the quarter-finals.

Costa Rica

It was 1990 before Costa Rica finally managed to qualify for the World Cup Finals held in Italy. On their debut, they did well to qualify from the group stage only to be knocked out convincingly by Czechoslovakia 4 – 1 in the round of 16. They qualified for two successive World Cup finals in 2002 and 2006 but could not find their way past the group stage. 2022 marks a third consecutive appearance in the World Cup Finals for Costa Rica, the first time they have achieved this. Most notably in the Brazilian World Cup of 2014, they achieved their best finish when knocked out in the quarter-finals. They impressively won their group stage beating Uruguay and Italy while drawing with England. They went on to beat Greece on penalties in the round of 16 and lost 4 – 3 on penalties to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. To qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Costa Rica beat New Zealand 1 – 0 in an intercontinental play-off.

This opening Group E game will be the 6th time the two teams have played each other. Japan has had the upper hand winning four games and drawing one. Will the 2022 World Cup register Costa Rica’s first-ever victory over Japan? The last time they played each other in September 2018, Japan ran out 3 – 0 winners with home advantage in an international friendly.

Current Odds at mr.play

One of the most common methods of betting on the outcome of a football match is by determining the result. Here at mr.play you will be able to place a stake on a Japan win or a Costa Rica win. If you think the game will end on level terms then you can also place a wager against this. Otherwise, try out some exciting odds for one of the teams to score in the first five minutes of the game. Much lower odds are available for a draw being the score-line at the end of the first five minutes of the game. Whatever you choose here at mr.play there is a betting market that will keep you interested in the 2022 World Cup.

Team Overviews & Player Profiles

Japan

Japan has some up-and-coming talents that may blow away the opposition to mount their challenge to the knockout stages. Daichi Kamada is inexperienced at the international level with 19 caps but he can score goals. Kamada has great control of the ball and with his movement, he has contributed 5 goals for his country by hitting the back of the net. Wherever he goes he scores goals, so watch out for this young and upcoming player that Japan cannot afford to sit on the bench.

The Japanese will need to have control of the midfield and stop any offensive moves by the Costa Ricans. Wataru Endo is a defensive midfielder who has played 158 games in the Japanese J1 League with Shonan Bellmare and is now captain of Bundesliga VfB Stuttgart. He has played 42 times for Japan, scoring 2 goals and he was a runner-up in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. He will be expecting to make a start in the 2022 World Cup having been selected in the 2018 squad but did not make an appearance.

Costa Rica

Crucial to Costa Rica being successful in the group stage will be their ability to keep clean sheets. Their goalkeeper Keylor Navas is often considered one of the best in the world and a lot of the Costa Rican hopes will be pinned on his performances during the tournament. Having played 107 times for Costa Rica he is the 9th most capped footballer in their history and will certainly be aiming for the top five, needing just 10 more caps. He has made over 100 appearances for Real Madrid winning La Liga and the Champions League on three occasions. His current team is Paris Saint-Germain where he is a 2-time Ligue 1 winner. Representing Costa Rica he reached the quarter-final in the 2014 World Cup and played in all the group games in 2018 before being knocked out. His exceptional agility, speed and athleticism and playing record have earned him the CONCACAF men’s player of the decade 2011 – 2020.

At the other end of the pitch, the Costa Ricans will also need to have some firepower. Joel Campbell is a forward/winger who is the 5th most capped Costa Rican of all time. His 25 goals make him the 7th highest goalscoring international for Costa Rica. In 8 appearances during 2022 for Costa Rica, Campbell has scored 4 goals. He was also part of the famous 2014 Costa Rican squad that reached the quarter-finals and he also played in Russia 2018. During his professional club career, he won the Greek Super League in 2013/2014 with Olympiacos and he now plays his football in Mexico. Playing for León in the MX Liga he won the championship in 2020 and has since been loaned out to Monterrey. A player who was included in the CONCACAF best XI 2015, Joel Campbell will be looking to hit the back of the net for Costa Rica at the 2022 World Cup.

A Battle to Reach the Round of 16

Will Costa Rica be able to finally beat Japan in an international match? The 2022 World Cup will be the place to do it and give them a strong chance of qualifying for the round of 16. That said, Japan will be full of running and a constant threat of attack. A crucial game that both teams will be wanting to win. Japan versus Costa Rica will be an action-packed game and you can check out loads of betting markets right here at mr.play.