Sports Mole previews Friday’s Copa America clash between Colombia and Costa Rica, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Colombia can qualify for the quarter-finals of the Copa America with a victory on Friday against Costa Rica at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
A 2-1 victory over Paraguay has Los Cafeteros on top of the Group D table with three points, while Los Ticos claimed a surprising 0-0 draw versus Brazil.
Match preview
© Reuters
It was a frustrating opening 20 minutes for Colombia on matchday one, but in the end, they were able to make most of their possession count.
Nestor Lorenzo’s men had 68% of the ball in their opener, scoring on two of their three targeted efforts, putting them in position to make the last eight of this tournament for a sixth successive occasion.
Colombia have won nine consecutive matches in all competitions, with seven of those triumphs being by just a single goal.
On Friday, they can win successive group matches in this competition for the first time since 2019, when they last topped their group.
While the Colombians have been sharp defensively over their current unbeaten run, which has lasted over two years, they have also been potent in the attacking third, scoring a combined 13 goals in their last four games.
Los Cafeteros have not lost to a CONCACAF opponent since the 2016 Copa America, when Costa Rica hung on for a 3-2 triumph against them in Houston.
© Reuters
Despite rarely getting a sniff at the Brazilian goal and defending throughout the majority of that match, Costa Rica pulled off a remarkable achievement in their opening game.
On matchday one, Gustavo Alfaro’s men became just the third CONCACAF nation to keep Brazil off the scoresheet in this competition, joining Honduras (2001) and Mexico (2001 and 2007).
Fortunately for Los Ticos, statistics do not determine the outcome of a match, as the Brazilians dominated them in almost every category, with the Costa Ricans only having 26% possession and a 0.03 expected goals ratio.
Their current four-match unbeaten run is the longest stretch without a defeat for the Costa Ricans since the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup, when they did not lose in five consecutive games before the start of that tournament.
They have not conceded in any of their previous three games but have never posted consecutive clean sheets at the Copa America.
Los Ticos have lost nine of their 11 all-time meetings with Colombia, with their previous triumph against them at the 2016 Copa America occurring over 70 years after their first one in 1938.
Colombia Copa America form:
Colombia form (all competitions):
Costa Rica Copa America form:
Costa Rica form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago
The Colombians could be missing Jhon Lucumi for this encounter, with the Bologna centre-back having to be replaced by Yerry Mina of Cagliari after 25 minutes on Monday due to a knock.
Luis Diaz collected his 50th cap with the national team, and Camilo Vargas was between the sticks once again, starting every match for the Colombians this year, with record cap holder David Ospina relegated to the bench.
Daniel Munoz put them in front on Monday, with his Crystal Palace teammate Jefferson Lerma scoring the winner, while James Rodriguez became the first player in the history of this tournament to register two assists in a single group stage contest since Peru’s Andre Carrillo in 2019.
Three changes were made to the Costa Rican starting 11 on matchday one from the side that defeated Grenada in World Cup qualifying (3-0) as Haxzel Quiros, Juan Pablo Vargas, and Jefferson Brenes came into the fold.
At 19 years and 270 days, Jeyland Mitchell became the youngest player to start for a CONCACAF team in this competition since Joel Campbell in 2011 (19 years and 15 days), with the latter coming on for the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time in their opener.
Although Brazil had 19 shots against the Costa Ricans, goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira only had to make three stops to collect his fourth consecutive clean sheet.
Colombia possible starting lineup:
Vargas; Munoz, Sanchez, Mina, Mojica; Rios, Lerma, Arias, Rodriguez; Duran, Diaz
Costa Rica possible starting lineup:
Sequeira; Quiros, Mitchell, Vargas, Calvo, Lassiter; Galo, Bran, Aguilera; Zamora, Ugalde
We say: Colombia 2-0 Costa Rica
Costa Rica have proven they can defend, but could be facing relentless pressure once again on Friday, and eventually fatigue may set in for Los Ticos against another strong attacking side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Publish date : 2024-06-26 07:45:14
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