Group C rivals Spain and Costa Rica will kick off their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaigns when they clash in Wellington on Friday.
Spain head into the tournament as one of the favourite to lift the trophy, while Costa Rica are among the sizeable group of outsiders.
🗣🎙👇- Jorge Vilda y @Estheeer9 en la previa del España - Costa Rica#JugarLucharYGanar I #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/hsC2QFXW95— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 20, 2023
🗣🎙👇- Jorge Vilda y @Estheeer9 en la previa del España - Costa Rica#JugarLucharYGanar I #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/hsC2QFXW95
Japan are expected to advance from Group C alongside Spain, with Costa Rica expected to join fellow minnows Zambia in the bottom two.
Following last week’s 9-0 thrashing of Vietnam, Spain head into the World Cup on an eye-catching six-game winning streak.
Not only have the Spaniards scored 28 goals across their last six friendlies – averaging 4.66 goals per game – but they have also kept five clean sheets.
When you look at the bigger picture, Spain have lost just one of their previous 14 matches in all competitions, picking up 12 wins and one draw in the process.
Having fallen in the quarter-finals of last year’s European Championship, Spain will be determined to prove their worth this summer.
As for Costa Rica, they are featuring in only their second Women’s World Cup after qualifying for the 2015 edition of the tournament.
Having drawn two and lost one of their three group games in 2015, the Costa Ricans will be eager to register their first-ever World Cup win this time around.
That said, Costa Rica enter the tournament in poor form, having won just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions.
With six defeats coming in their previous seven encounters, Costa Rica must discover their best form if they are to make it out of Group C.
Head-to-head: The only previous meeting between Spain and Costa Rica came at the 2015 World Cup when the two sides played out a 1-1 draw.
It is worth noting that Costa Rica finished one point above Spain in their group, although both nations failed to qualify for the knockout phase.
Team news: Spain’s squad is littered with world-class players, including Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas and Pachuca’s Jennifer Hermoso, who have 200 caps between them.
On the flip side, 16 of Costa Rica’s 23 players ply their trade in their homeland. One exception is Portland Thorns midfielder Raquel Rodriguez, who has scored 55 goals in 100 international games.
Although Spain’s squad is far superior to Costa Rica’s, the Spaniards invariably flatter to deceive when it comes to major tournaments.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Costa Rica will hold Spain to a low-scoring draw, with both teams netting under 1.5 goals.