Brazil vs Costa Rica Prediction: No first night fright for Brazilians
Nine-time champions Brazil make their 2024 Copa America debut on Tuesday (02:00, Premier Sports 1) as they face Costa Rica at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Costa Rica are making their sixth Copa America appearance but have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals, which they last reached in 2004.
Read on for my Brazil vs Costa Rica prediction and all the latest team news and match odds heading into this Group D fixture.
Brazil vs Costa Rica Betting Tips
Team News
Brazil played two friendlies in the lead-up to this tournament in the USA, beating Mexico 3-2 on June 9 and drawing 1-1 with the host nation four days later.
The team named against the latter feels like the most likely starting XI on Tuesday, meaning a backline of Danilo, Marquinhos, Lucas Beraldo and Wendell in front of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker. Bremer and Eder Militao are probably the biggest threat to centre-back Beraldo's inclusion.
Head coach Dorival Junior looks pretty settled on a midfield trio of Joao Gomes, Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes, while Raphinha, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. look likely to start ahead of them, though 17-year-old Endrick further pushed himself into contention with a last-minute winner against Mexico.
With 139 caps to his name - and 27 goals - ex-Arsenal attacker Joel Campbell is the most experienced international in the Costa Rica ranks, while 93-cap defender Francisco Calvo will be helping to shore up the backline.
Aside from Campbell and Calvo, no player in the Costa Rica squad has more than four international goals, which could prove to be a problem for the CONCACAF nation.
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Brazil are hugely fancied to kick off their 2024 Copa America campaign with a victory; they are priced at 1/8, giving them an implied win probability of 88.9%, while Costa Rica are 14/1, or a 6.7% chance.
The draw can be backed at 11/2, both teams to score at 11/8 and over 2.5 goals at 4/9.
Endrick (19/20) is lowest priced to score anytime with Evanilson and Vinicius Jr. (both 11/10) just behind him.
Bet Builder - Brazil To Win, Both Teams To Score - No, Woodwork Hit @ 6/4
Brazil (11/5) are second-favourite to win the competition behind Argentina (7/4), while Costa Rica are way down the order at 80/1, highlighting the disparity between these sides.
The Selecao have won all previous eight head-to-heads, the most recent of which came at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and are unbeaten in all four matches this calendar year, beating England and Mexico and drawing to Spain and the USA.
Costa Rica warmed up for the 2024 Copa America by beating Saint Kitts and Nevis and Grenada, but those are two unheralded teams in the international football scene and a goalless draw with a severely weakened Uruguay on June 1 is more indicative of their level compared to South America.
Argentina did concede a goal to Costa Rica in a 3-1 international friendly victory over them in March, but in a competitive game, I don't see Brazil allowing them such an opportunity.
I expect Brazil to pepper the Costa Rica goal, and that could also mean the woodwork being hit.
Correct Score - Brazil 2-0 @ 5/1
This was the scoreline the last time these sides met, although it took Philippe Coutinho until second-half added time to net the opener before Neymar made sure of the victory.
Given it's the first game for Brazil, I'm not sure whether they will be at their free-flowing best as their opponents look to make the game as difficult as possible for them, stifling their attackers at every opportunity.
Therefore, 2-0 feels like a sensible prediction, and it was the scoreline in the tournament's opening game as Argentina beat Canada.
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