Costa Rica and Greece prepare to meet in one of the knockout-stage matchups at the World Cup on Sunday, and one of these teams will be going to the quarterfinals for the first time in their country’s history.
World Cup Odds: Costa Rica +145, Greece +225, Draw +195
Odds To Advance: Costa Rica -140, Greece +120
Why Costa Rica Can Win
Costa Rica can win if they play the way they did in their first two Group D matches against Uruguay and Italy in which they counterattacked brilliantly, although they were more on the front foot against a poor Uruguayan side. They seemed to take their foot off the gas in their final game against England and while they aren’t the first team to ease when they are always through, Costa Rica isn’t good enough to do that two games in a row and you have to wonder if they can find that again before they get ready for this match.
The fact of the matter is that Costa Rica doesn’t have many players that play in major leagues like the ones in Spain, England, Italy and Germany, so most of them don’t have experience in games with a lot of pressure and it’ll be interesting to see how they handle it on Sunday.
Why Greece Can Win
Greece, on the other hand, have a few players that have played in some high-level matches both at club and international level. For Giorgos Samaras looked as cool as a cucumber as he stepped up late in injury time to take the penalty that would send Greece through to the next round at the expense of the Ivory Coast, and he looked like he actually wanted to take it; how many players from the opposition can you say that about? This is a Greek team who is battle-tested and they don’t show any fear against anyone, and that is going to serve them well as they head into this part of the tournament.
Greece’s style of play is also more conducive to the knockout round of the World Cup, and while it might not work against a better opponent than Costa Rica, they don’t have to worry about that just yet. It was surprising to see Greece actually push forward and attack after watching them defend with vigor for the last decade since they shocked everyone to win Euro 2004 in Portugal against the host team.
Outlook
This will be the first time in the history of these two sides that they will meet on the pitch, and the stakes could be higher as someone will be going to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time. While Costa Rica has really played above any expectations, they might have made a mistake by playing for a draw against England. It is tough to get back into that underdog mentality that they had coming in, while Greece just played what was basically an elimination team. Combine that with their experience and the Greeks cause another upset.
Pick: Greece
