England – Costa Rica Prediction & Picks (07.06.2018)

England and Costa Rica meet at Elland Road, in a friendly. This is the 4th friendly of the year for England, after friendlies against Nigeria, Italy and the Netherlands. In the case of Costa Rica, this is their 4th friendly of the year, after previous friendlies against Northern Ireland, Tunisia and Scotland. There is only a record of 1 direct match in the last 3 years between these two teams, on 06-24-2014, which ended with a draw by (0-0).

England:

This is the 4th friendly match of the year of the home team, after previous friendlies in which recorded the following results: England (2-1) Nigeria, England (1-1) Italy and the Netherlands (0-1) England. In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, England have won 6 and tied 4. Their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches. In the last 13 home matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have suffered 4 of their 9 goals between minutes (76′-90 ‘).

The English team comes to this game with a victory over Nigeria, 2-1, adding the ninth game in a row without losing in several competitions: the goals were scored by Gahill and Kane. In this game against Costa Rica, coach Gareth Southgate must play in 3-5-2, privileging possession of the ball and organized attacks, mainly through the flanks: Sterling is very fast and excellent in transporting the ball towards other people’s land. But the great highlight of the team is striker Harry Kane, this player being very effective owner. For this game the coach must have the usual players.

Costa Rica:

The visiting team disputes their 4th friendly of the year. In the previous friendlies he registered the following markers: Costa Rica (3-0) Northern Ireland, Tunisia (1-0) Costa Rica and Scotland (0-1) Costa Rica. In the last 10 away matches Costa Rica has won 3, tied 1 and lost 6. Defensive consistency has not been their best, as they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches. In 15 games, he never got the comeback in the 7 games in which he suffered the first goal.

The Costa Rican team leaves for this game with a victory against Northern Ireland, 3-0, adding the following win in the last three games played: the goals were scored by Venegas, Campbell and Calvo. In this friendly coach Óscar Ramírez must act in the usual 5-4-1, privileging the defensive organization and counterattacks. Joel Campbell is the player with the most competition to unbalance the opponent’s defense. In addition, this player is very important in the offensive transition of the team. Everything indicates that the coach does not have important absences for this game.