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Costa Rica play host to Panama at the National Stadium in the first leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals on Thursday. Having lost the last five meetings between the two sides, Claudio Vivas’ men will head into this one desperate to get one over the visitors and place one foot in the last-four.
Costa Rica turned in an impressive attacking display on October 16 as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Guatemala when the two nations met in San Jose.
This capped off a solid Nations League group stage campaign for Vivas’ side, who picked up two wins and two draws from their four matches to finish one point clear in Group A.
Next up for Costa Rica is the stern challenge of taking on an opposing side who have won their last five clashes, scoring 11 goals and keeping three clean sheets since June 2022.
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Panama head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 2-1 friendly defeat against Canada at Toronto's BMO Field on October 16.
Thomas Christiansen’s men have now lost three straight games, including friendlies, with a 5-0 thumping at the hands of Colombia in the 2024 Copa America quarter-finals back in July starting this run.
Panama head into the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals as one of four unseeded nations and will be looking to kick off their campaign on a postive note.
Costa Rica vs Panama Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- With 31 wins from the last 62 meetings between the sides, Costa Rica boasts a superior record in the history of this fixture.
- Panama have picked up 19 wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 12 occasions.
- Christiansen’s men are on a five-game winning streak against Costa Rica, stretching back to a 1-0 defeat in January 2022.
- Costa Rica are unbeaten in their six home matches across all competitions in 2024, claiming five wins and one draw since the turn of the year.
Costa Rica vs Panama Prediction
The stakes are high for Costa Rica and Panama, who will both be looking to get the better of each other and place one foot in the Nations League semi-finals. While Vivas’ men are on a dire run against Panama, we predict they will make use of their home advantage and snatch a narrow victory on Thursday.
Prediction: Costa Rica 2-1 Panama
Costa Rica vs Panama Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Costa Rica to win
Tip 2: First to score - Costa Rica (The hosts have opened the scoring in four of their last five games across all competitions)
Tip 3: Over 10.5 corners - No (There have been fewer than 11 corner kicks in four of the last five meetings between the two nations)
