The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying process finally ends on Tuesday as Costa Rica and New Zealand go head to head to decide which side gets the final spot at the tournament.
Bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 1.80 for Costa Rica to win in 90 minutes and at 1.33 for them to qualify. The odds are at 5.00 for New Zealand to win at full-time and at 3.25 for them to advance.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 13th, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
The Costa Ricans have been pretty frequent guests at the World Cup finals while New Zealand are trying to get there for only the third time in their history. The Kiwis also played at the 1982 and 2010 editions.
New Zealand have fallen short of qualifying at the final hurdle in each of the last two occasions losing two-legged playoffs to Mexico and Peru. They should be much better placed to grab a World Cup ticket for this year’s tournament as Costa Rica is a slightly weaker team compared to the two mentioned and this time around, everything is going to be decided by just one match.
The All Whites are underdogs for the clash but anything can happen in a single football match and they will have their hopes high.
New Zealand’s chances will rely heavily on Chris Wood and on the service the team is able to provide him. The 30-year-old endured a tough campaign this season, but he’s been a proven goalscorer in the Premier League for a number of years and can certainly do some damage if his teammates can get him the ball in the right areas.
Costa Rica are led by veterans Celso Borges and Bryan Ruiz as well as former Arsenal speedster Joel Campbell who is plying his trade in Mexico these days.
Campbell is one of only five players on the team who are playing abroad, but Costa Rica are 31st in the FIFA rankings ahead of the likes of Egypt and the Czech Republic, which shows that they are a quality side.
Luis Fernando Suarez and his men will be very disappointed if they aren’t able to win on Tuesday. New Zealand are ranked just 101st and the side has never been higher than 47th.
It’s only the second-ever meeting between the two sides and Costa Rica won the first one back in 2007 very comfortably 4-0. Another such scoreline wouldn’t be surprising on Tuesday but considering what’s at stake, we can expect to see New Zealand fighting tooth and nail to keep themselves in the game for as long as possible. Their chances of qualifying will certainly grow with each passing minute if the game is tied.
