Mexico vs Costa Rica 30/06/19

30 June 2019

Desperate to bring a five-game winless run against Mexico to a halt (D3, L2), Costa Rica prepare to take on the North American giants at the NRG Stadium in Houston in their Gold Cup quarter-finals encounter.

Eager to reclaim the Gold Cup trophy, the Mexicans have stormed through the opening three games of the tournament to finish top of Group A (W3). Propelled to the quarter-finals by a free-scoring form, El Tri have netted over 2.5 match goals in all three of their games in the group stage, keeping a clean sheet only once though. What’s more, ever since Gerardo Martino took charge of the national team, Mexico have put together seven consecutive victories, scoring at least three goals per match across all of those outings. Still, their defensive frailties have seen them concede at least one goal per match in 15 of their last 16 games, allowing over 1.5 match goals eight times in the process.

Meanwhile, Los Ticos have suffered a 2-1 loss to Haiti in their third match of the group stage after beating both Nicaragua and Bermuda in the opening two outings to finish second in Group B. Interestingly, all three of Costa Rica’s games at the competition have featured over 2.5 goals while two of them witnessed goals at both ends. But, Costa Rica’s struggling for consistency has been their main problem over the past ten months, with none of their 13 games across period ending in a draw (W5, L8). Also, Gustavo Matosas’ men have not only conceded over 1.5 match goals in six of those eight defeats, but they’ve also failed to find the net on five occasions in the process.