Costa Rica is definitely not the weakest them of those participating at the World Cup 2014, but when playing the same group as Italy, England and Uruguay your chances to win are slim to none. Those who are curious what the numbers indicate, should know that Bet365 offers odds of 2500 to 1 for Costa Rica.
Jorge Luis Pinto probably smiles down benevolently upon those who ask him about what he thinks about these odds, because they have no significance whatsoever. His only concern is not to disappoint the fans and in order to do this, he must accumulate at least one point in a game played with far better teams.
Group stage and event prospects
It is obvious that Costa Rica has a snowflake's chance in hell to survive the group stage and the odds of 26 to 1 clearly reflect this reality. They will be playing defensively against all opponents, because their only chance to score goals is on the counterattack, free kicks and penalties. Their defense is decently strong and that's what won most of the games for them during the qualifying campaign.
When something works decently well, you have no reason to change it especially if there are no solutions to replace it. This is exactly what manager Jorge Luis Pinto plans on doing, with five defenders in the back line, four midfielders assisting them at all times and a single striker upfront. Costa Rica we look more like a fortress than a team trying to score goals and they will give opponents a run for their money.
Key players for Costa Rica at the World Cup
The more points they accumulate, the better, but as long as they play decently well, the South Americans won't be upset even if they lose all three games. They don't have quality players that can carry the team and instead they will have to rely on a group of players that work well enough together. The two strikers that are best suited for scoring goals against these vastly superior opponents are Brian Ruiz and Joel Campbell. They will be probably stranded upfront and forced to join midfielders more often than they like, but at the end of the day was good for the team is good for these two.
Pinto is a rather authoritarian manager and he will keep his players in control at all times, because this is the only way to extract something from this insanely difficult games. There are not many players capable to replace the aforementioned strikers, so the two of them will need to stay fit throughout the group stage. Ruiz has the advantage of playing for Fulham where he got battle-hardened and played against some of the best teams in continental football.
Joel Campbell is the biggest underdog of all strikers at the World Cup, with Bet365 offering odds of 1001 to 1, if anyone is willing to take the chance with him at the top scorer. All that Costa Rica can hope for is that the defense will hold its ground and keep the team afloat long enough for one of these two strikers to score. The midfield is relatively strong and definitely better than the defense, although at times it will be difficult to distinguish between midfielders and defenders.
The bottom line
Costa Rica is a far cry from a team playing for the most important trophy in football, but they won't give up without a fight. Opponents will have a hard time scoring goals against them, for the simple reason that they will barricade themselves in their own half and try to withstand a 90 minutes siege.
