Colombia vs Costa Rica prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: Copa América betting tips on match 2024-06-28 22:00.
[p]Colombia kicked off their 2024 Copa América campaign with a 2-1 win over Paraguay on Monday, extending their unbeaten record to a remarkable 24 matches (W19, D5). Should Los Cafeteros back up that latest victory with another against Costa Rica, it will be the first time ever that they would have won ten consecutive matches, which would in turn secure their place in a sixth successive Copa América quarter-final.[/p]
[p]Colombian fans will be further buoyed by the fact that their team have won eight of their last nine meetings with Costa Rica, including a 2004 Copa América quarter-final (2-0). They’ll be keen to add to that solid record here in Arizona, and boss Néstor Lorenzo will certainly be hoping that the pitch allows for an attractive contest after complaining following the game against Paraguay that the playing surface at Houston’s NRG Stadium wasn’t up to scratch. [/p]
[p]If Colombia aren’t on top form, Costa Rica may cause their second surprise of the tournament after they impressively held Brazil to a 0-0 draw in California, ending a rotten run of nine consecutive H2H losses in the process. They had to do it the hard way, enjoying just 30% of possession and facing 19 shots in total, but it was a result that underlined the impressive character in Gustavo Alfaro’s squad, which is the youngest currently competing in the tournament. [/p]
[p]A positive result against Colombia would mean that Los Ticos will have avoided defeat in their opening two Copa América finals matches for the first time since 2001, when they reached their second such quarter-final in a row. Achieving a third-ever appearance in the last eight would arguably eclipse those other two tournament showings however, given that they now find themselves outside the top 50 in the FIFA world rankings. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Jhon Arias didn’t get on the scoresheet against Paraguay, but the Colombia attacker could still be a threat here, as he netted in all three of his country’s most recent friendlies (G3), with two of those goals coming inside ten minutes. In Costa Rica’s 4-0 win over Saint Kitts and Nevis earlier this month, Orlando Galo scored either side of half-time, with all three of his international goals to date arriving in 2024.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Colombia’s last five goals have all arrived before the break. [/p]