Women’s World Cup 2023: Spain vs Costa Rica Prediction, Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks

The problem is Putellas suffered a serious injury in July 2022. She underwent surgery and returned to the pitch barely two months ago. In fact, she didn’t play in the UEFA Champions League final on June 3, which FC Barcelona won 3-2.

Putellas is expected to take it easy during the group stage, but she will be a factor, no doubt. Plus, she will be accompanied by other great players, such as Jennifer Hermoso, who finished second in the 2021 race for the Ballon d’Or.

This is a well-balanced, experienced squad that finished the qualifiers undefeated. Spain won Group B of the UEFA qualifiers thanks to an 8-0-0 record, scoring 53 goals and conceding zero. Only England and France scored more, with 80 and 54.

No wonder Spain is -4½ at -125 in the soccer lines. That means one thing: they’re expected to crush Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Controversy

After missing the 2019 edition, Costa Rica managed to qualify after finishing second in Group B of the CONCACAF qualifiers. Las Ticas had no trouble defeating Panama 3-0 and Trinidad & Tobago 4-0. However, they lost 2-0 to Canada. Later, they lost 3-0 to the United States in the semifinals.

Qualifying for a World Cup will always be good news, but head coach Amelia Valverde decided to leave players like Shirley Cruz, Noelia Bermudez and Lixy Rodriguez out of the team, which has generated a hostile environment around the squad.

Cruz is arguably the best player Costa Rica has ever seen. She played in Europe for 12 years, winning the UEFA Champions League twice with Olympique Lyon.

This will be Costa Rica’s second World Cup. In 2015, they failed to advance to the knockout stages but put up a good fight, finishing third in Group E. This time, besides Spain, they’ll also face Japan and Zambia.

With Cruz out, Priscila Chinchilla and Maria Paula Salas are expected to lead the attacking unit. However, both are out of form since they’ve no club. That being said, you can expect Costa Rica to heavily rely on the counterattack.

Costa Rica is listed at +4½ (-105) in the soccer odds. If you bet on them, you don’t need them to win to collect. All you need is for them to not lose by five goals or more.

Spain vs Costa Rica Head-to-Head

These two already played each other in a World Cup. In fact, that’s the only time they’ve met. It was in the 2015 edition, and the match finished 1-1. Vicky Losada scored the opener for Spain only 13 minutes into the game, but Raquel Rodriguez scored the equalizer one minute later. Losada won’t be in the 2023 edition; Rodriguez will.

The total for Friday’s clash is set to five goals, with the over and the under offering a -115 price. Keep in mind that those prices can further improve via soccer live betting.

Spain vs Costa Rica Match Information

• Match: Spain vs Costa Rica
• Date: Friday, July 21
• Time: 3:30 a.m. ET
• Location: Sky Stadium, Wellington
• Spain vs Costa Rica Live Stream: fubo.tv

Spain vs Costa Rica Betting Lines

Spain vs Costa Rica Picks and Prediction

Costa Rica won’t win the match. We’re talking about a team that only won two of their last 17 games in all competitions. However, I do think Las Ticas have what it takes to not lose by five goals. Prior to the World Cup, they lost 2-1 to Poland, 1-0 to Nigeria and 4-0 to Scotland. In the end, Valverde and the players have nothing to lose and much to win. Go ahead and include Costa Rica losing by less than five goals in your soccer picks.