Costa Rica vs Germany: prediction & betting odds 1 December 2022

Matchday 3 of the FIFA World Cup between Costa Rica and Germany in Group E will take place on December 1 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Kick-off is at 22:00 (Moscow time). Costa Rica vs. Germany: prediction and betting odds, statistics for the 2022 World Cup encounter.

Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

Matches – 7 (International matches, 2022/23);

Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 23;

Average yellow cards per match – 3.3;

Red cards shown – 0;

Average fouls per match – 23;

Penalties – 29%.

Costa Rica vs. Germany: Predicted Lineups

Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Bryan Oviedo, Oscar Duarte, Kendall Waston, Keysher Fuller, Juan Pablo Vargas, Celso Borges, Yeltsin Tejeda, Gerson Torres, Joel Campbell, Anthony Contreras.

Germany: Manuel Neuer, Antonio Rüdiger, Niklas Süle, Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Gündogan, Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Müller.

Costa Rica

After a crushing 0-7 defeat to Spain in their World Cup opener, Costa Rica bounced back to beat Japan 1-0. Notably, Costa Rica registered an xG of 0.36 and only had one shot on target, which proved to be the match-winner. This victory marked their first win in regular time in their last eight World Cup matches (4 draws, 3 losses). The team also kept a clean sheet for the first time in five World Cup games.

Costa Rica has not drawn in their last nine official matches, winning seven and losing two. Interestingly, their match against Japan was the sixth consecutive official game where the bet "Both teams to score – No" was successful.

Defender Francisco Calvo will miss the upcoming match due to yellow card accumulation.

Germany

Germany shared the points with Spain in their second-round match (1-1). The German team extended their winless run in World Cup matches to three games (1 draw, 2 losses). However, under Hansi Flick, Germany performed well against Spain, conceding possession but outshooting their opponents both in total shots (11-7) and shots on target (4-3). Nevertheless, Germany conceded again, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last five World Cup matches. Moreover, they have not scored more than once in five of their last six World Cup games.

Hansi Flick's side has shown weak results, securing just one win in their last eight official matches (5 draws, 2 losses). Additionally, in eight of their last nine official games, Germany and their opponents have exchanged goals.

Costa Rica vs. Germany: Match Prediction

Costa Rica has managed to stay in the race for a playoff spot at the World Cup in Qatar. After the defeat to Spain, where Costa Rica equaled their own negative World Cup record by not registering a single shot on target, it was difficult to expect a positive result against Japan. However, the team put in maximum effort and achieved their goal. Now, Luis Fernando Suárez's side needs to hold their ground against Germany, a task that, as shown by Japan, is entirely feasible.

If Germany fails to win the upcoming match, they will certainly not advance to the playoffs. Even with a victory, their fate will depend on the result of the Spain vs. Japan match. Germany showed improvement in their last outing, playing more cohesive football. A significant boost for Hansi Flick's team was the return of Leroy Sané, who provided the assist for the equalizing goal against Spain.

Germany demonstrated in the second round that they should not be written off, and the loss to Japan was largely an anomaly. I expect Germany to win this encounter, with no more than four goals scored in total. My prediction: Germany win + Total under 4.5 goals