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Kick-off: July 14 @ 8.30 pm EST
Venue: BMO Field (Toronto, Canada)
Past meetings
Canada v Costa Rica 0-1 (International friendly)
Costa Rica v Canada 2-2 (2009 Gold Cup)
Canada v Costa Rica 1-1 (International friendly)
Costa Rica v Canada 1-2 (2007 Gold Cup)
Canada v Costa Rica 0-1 (2005 Gold Cup)
Canada
Last 5 matches:
Puerto Rico v Canada 0-3 (International friendly)
Dominica v Canada 0-2 (2018 World Cup qualifier)
Canada v Dominica 4-0 (2018 World Cup qualifier)
El Salvador v Canada 0-0 (2015 Gold Cup)
Jamaica v Canada 1-0 (2015 Gold Cup)
Team News:
Canada have been largely disappointing in the opening two matches, and chances are that only a win over struggling Costa Rica in the final group game will see the co-hosts progress to the quarter-finals. Les Rouges are desperate to avoid third-place finish as that could see them face USA or Mexico in the next stage.
Full-back Nikolas Ledgerwood (43/0) and defensive midfielder Samuel Piette (17/0) are both banned for the Costa Rica clash due to accumulation of yellow cards. Canada fans are hoping to finally see exciting MLS prospects Russell Teibert (15/1) and Jonathan Osorio (12/0) in the starting line-up.
Players to watch: Cyle Larin, Tesho Akindele.
Probable starting line-up (4-5-1): Stamatopoulos – Hainault, Edgar, Jakovic, de Jong – Ricketts, Teibert, de Guzman, Osorio, Akindele – Larin.
Costa Rica
Last 5 matches:
Colombia v Costa Rica 1-0 (International friendly)
Spain v Costa Rica 2-1 (International friendly)
Mexico v Costa Rica 2-2 (International friendly)
Costa Rica v Jamaica 2-2 (2015 Gold Cup)
Costa Rica v El Salvador 1-1 (2015 Gold Cup)
Team News:
Costa Rica were pretty disappointing in the second group game, even if they conceded the equalizer deep into injury time, but they now need to get at least one point in order to make it to the quarter-final.
Important defender Cristian Gamboa (37/1), who missed the game against El Salvador through injury, is unlikely to recover in time to face Canada, while coach Paulo Wanchope will have a talk with star player Joel Campbell after he failed to prove his worth in the first two games.
The boss has a number of fitness worries due to the hectic schedule and difficult weather conditions and is again expected to make several changes to the starting line-up.
Players to watch: Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz.
Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Alvarado – Myrie, Gonzalez, Umana, Diaz – Borges, Cubero – Campbell, Ruiz, Venegas – Ramirez.
Canada v Costa Rica betting odds & tips
*Considering that both Canada and Costa Rica have largely struggled so far, there appears to be value in betting on under 2 goals at 1.80 (4/5).
*Even if Los Ticos have failed to impress so far, they still have a lot more quality than the poor Canada side and away win looks a good bet at 2.07 (27/25).
