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El Salvador entertain Costa Rica in their penultimate fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign on Sunday.
The hosts are no longer in contention for a playoffs spot as they played out a 1-1 draw against Jamaica in their previous outing. They travel to face Mexico in their next fixture, a tricky opponent at home. With that in mind, La Selecta will be hoping to secure a win in their final home game of the campaign.
Costa Rica continued their fine form in the qualifying campaign as they extended their unbeaten run to five games. They pulled off an upset against leaders Canada in their previous outing and stand a good chance of finishing fourth to earn an inter-conference playoffs spot. They host the USA after this game, so they must secure a win here.
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Panama are just a point behind Los Ticos in the standings but face Canada and the USA in their final two games, so Costa Rica are favorites for a fourth-place finish.
El Salvador vs Costa Rica Head-to-Head
The two Central American nations have a long-standing rivalry and have locked horns 66 times across all competitions. The visitors have been the better side in this fixture with 39 wins to their name, while the hosts have 14 wins. A total of 13 games have ended in draws.
The hosts are winless in this fixture since their 1-0 win in the qualifying campaign for the 2010 edition. They last met at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica with the then-hosts coming out on top with a 2-1 win.
El Salvador form guide (all competitions): D-L-W-L-L
Costa Rica form guide (World Cup qualifiers): W-W-D-W-W
El Salvador vs Costa Rica Team News
El Salvador
There are no reported injuries for the hosts. Darwin Cerén, who has featured in 16 of the 17 games in the qualifying campaign for El Salvador, is suspended following his second yellow card of the campaign.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Darwin Cerén
Costa Rica
The visiting side travel to San Salvador with a fully fit squad and should be able to secure a positive result here. Rónald Matarrita was at the receiving end of a harsh tackle from Canada's Mark-Anthony Kaye and came off with a swollen ankle. He is the only doubt for the visitors.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Rónald Matarrita
Suspended: None
El Salvador vs Costa Rica Predicted XI
El Salvador Predicted XI (5-4-1): Mario Gonzalez (GK); Bryan Tamacas, Eriq Zavaleta, Ronald Gómez, Romulo Villalobos, Roberto Domínguez; Christian Martinez, Jairo Mauricio Henriquez, Narciso Orellana, Joaquin Rivas; Nelson Bonilla
Costa Rica Predicted XI (4-3-3): Keylor Navas (GK); Bryan Oviedo, Kendall Watson, Francisco Calvo, Keysher Fuller; Gerson Torres, Yeltsin Tejeda, Celso Borges; Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell, Johan Venegas
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El Salvador vs Costa Rica Prediction
El Salvador have the second-worst attacking record in the CONCACAF qualifying campaign with only seven goals but have conceded 14. Costa Rica have secured narrow wins to keep their qualification hopes alive. They outscored the hosts by just two goals but have a solid defensive record with only seven goals in 12 games.
Costa Rica will likely emerge victorious again by a narrow margin.
Prediction: El Salvador 0-1 Costa Rica
