Germany have started their current World Cup campaign with a shocking 2–1 defeat to East Asian side Japan. On the second match day, the points were shared at Al Bayt Stadium as Hansi Flick’s men played a 1–1 draw against Luis Enrique’s Spain. Costa Rica, meanwhile, demonstrated a fantastic mentality against Japan, celebrating a narrow but very important victory, following their humiliating 7-0 defeat against Spanish National Team in their opening game. Costa Rica stand third in Group E with three points, while the four-time World Cup winners, with only a point, would need to take an advantage over the South American side to secure their place in the knockout stages. The meeting starts on 1 December at 19:00 UK time.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Match Winner – Germany – 1.116.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Handicap (-2.5) for Germany – 1.92.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #3 – Anytime Goalscorer – Gnabry – 2.20.
Die Mannschaft will be beyond desperate for their first win of the tournament which will be the most decisive one for the European giants as they can’t risk another World Cup fail. With only two victories in nine games in 2022, Flick’s team hasn’t exactly wowed anyone with their performances so far. Looking ahead to the game against Costa Rica, Germany will be seeking three points against Luis Fernando Suárez’s side to live their Mundial revival. DFB will advance to the knockout rounds only with a victory, however, if the match between Spain and Japan ends up in a tie, Germany must need to win by two goals or more to have a bigger goal difference over the East Asian side.
The shortest odds stand for Serge Gnabry to find the back of the net for Germany. The Bayern Munich star has arrived at the World Cup in magnificent form, scoring six and assisting two in his last six Bundesliga matches.
The Germans faced a shocking 2 – 1 defeat to Japan in their opening World Cup match. A draw against Spain, meanwhile, has saved Flick’s side from getting knocked out in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament. This means, that Thursday’s clash with Costa Rica will be a ride or die for the European giants as a failure could cost them a ticket back to Germany earlier than expected.
In their first two matches, the Bundes team managed to score twice and conceded three, Costa Rica, meanwhile, managed to find the back of the net once only with a total of seven conceded goals and a clean sheet.
Despite their beggarly recent form with two victories out of eight games, Germany is heading to Al Bayt Stadium as favourites.
In our opinion, the teams will take to the field with the following line-ups:
Costa Rica: Navas – Fuller, Duarte, Vargas, Watson, Oviedo – Torres, Borges, Tejeda, Campbell – Contreras.
Germany: Neuer – Klostermann, Sule, Rudiger, Raum – Kimmich, Gundogan – Gnabry, Musiala, Sane – Fullkrug.
The fixture will be played at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor Qatar.
This starting whistle will sound on the 1st of December 2022, at 19:00 UK Time.
We recommend checking out the odds for the World Cup 2022: Costa Rica vs Germany at 1xBet.