Spain W vs Costa Rica W prediction: WORLD: World Cup Women betting tips on match 2023-07-20 07:30.
Group C in the 2023 Women’s World Cup (WWC) gets underway when group favourites Spain tackle a Costa Rica side who will be hoping to ruffle some feathers, just as they did when these two shared a group at the 2015 WWC. They surprisingly drew 1-1 in that clash, but both sides failed to progress into the knockout phase with Spain capitulating to finish bottom. Yet, Spain are now one of the favourites to lift the trophy after suffering only one loss in their last 14 matches (W12, D1) which illustrates how far they’ve come since.
That record is made more imposing with the 11 accompanying clean sheets in that time, which includes a 2-0 win over tournament favourites the USA. Manager Jorge Vilda’s aim will be to get the Red One to at least surpass the Round of 16 which is where their 2019 WWC campaign concluded, although he has had to make some brave squad selections, with last year’s player revolt that saw 15 players stand down from the national team in mind.
Costa Rica come into the tournament with very few expectations, as they failed to consolidate their encouraging performances in the 2015 WWC (D2, L1) by failing to qualify for the 2019 edition. Their recent form doesn’t offer much encouragement either, since the Tricolor have won only one of their last 11 matches (D2, L8).
It’s fair to say then that coach Amelia Valverde has her back against the wall, especially after causing a stir by leaving experienced captain Shirley Cruz out of her squad. Valverde does have a handful of players competing in some of the world’s top leagues to call upon, although the odds of FIFA’s #36 ranked nation making it past the group stages look slim.
Players to watch: Look no further than Spain’s back-to-back Women’s Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas for flashes of brilliance – she is undefeated in national colours when scoring (G28 – W23, D4). Meanwhile, Costa Rica will rely on the experience of Raquel RodrĂguez for inspiration, and she boasts an impressive 55 international goals in her 100 appearances.
Hot stat: Spain have scored in both halves in nine of their last 11 matches.