Dean Etheridge
After Sunday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Panama, the US men’s national team will be hoping to get back on track when they face Costa Rica in Ohio this Wednesday.
The loss to Panama will be a bitter pill to swallow. Not just the defeat, but the manner of it. The US didn’t even manage one shot on target.
The defeat means the match against Costa Rica is now vitally important. Defeat for Gregg Berhalter’s team would leave them outside of the three automatic qualifying spots for the 2022 World Cup betting in Qatar.
This would represent a disastrous October triple header and leave coach Gregg Berhalter under even more pressure.
The underfire boss has already come in for some flak after his selection gamble in the Panama match backfired. So he knows there can be no more mistakes at Lower.com Field this Wednesday!
| USA v Costa Rica Betting Odds |  |  |
| USA | -250 | -220 |
| Draw | +320 | +350 |
| Costa Rica | +700 | +650 |
Qualifying Latest
The defeat on Sunday for the USMNT has left the CONCACAF world cup qualifying group wide open.
Mexico sits top of the table on 11 points, 3 ahead of the US. After Mexico, just 3 points separate the USMNT in second place, and El Salvador down in sixth place. All teams have played five matches each.
The US did have a slow start to their campaign, drawing with both El Salvador and Canada.
Then back-to-back wins over Honduras and Jamaica seemed to get the USA back on track.
The defeat to Panama will come as a huge setback to a side that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Concacaf Standings with one more game left in this #WCQ window. pic.twitter.com/k9ao2PwTzN
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) October 11, 2021
USA v Costa Rica
This will be the third match for both of these two sides in just under a week.
A schedule like that can test the best of any squad, let alone an already under-strength one like the US currently has.
Even an under-strength USA squad is still a better roster of players to pick from than Wednesday’s opponents will have though.
That will help the USA, although it could also serve as a hindrance if it adds more pressure to an already under the Kosh head coach.
Match Facts
- Match: USA v Costa Rica | 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
- Venue: Lower.com Field, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Date: October 13th, 2021
- Time: 7pm ET
Latest Form
So far in this international break, the USA has picked up 3 points from two matches.
They opened up with a comfortable 2-0 win over Jamaica on Thursday, and then followed that up with Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Panama.
As for Costa Rica, they have picked up 4 points from their two matches so far.
The side managed by Luis Fernando Suarez started with a 0-0 draw away at Honduras on Thursday. Then on Sunday, they defeated El Salvador 2-1, coming back from 1-0 down to claim an impressive victory.
USA v Costa Rica Betting
Match Odds
- USA -220
- Draw +350
- Costa Rica +650
Despite the form of the two sides, the top sportsbooks still make the hosts their betting favorites.
On current form, it’s hard to see any value in picking the US to win at soccer betting odds of -210.
So far in this qualifying group, Costa Rica has looked more of a team that is hard to beat, than a team that will blow sides away. They have three draws from their five matches.
With that in mind, I think that a small wager on the draw at +300 looks like the value bet.
Over/Under 2.5 Goals Betting
Moving onto the goals betting, and all the results and form only points to one outcome in the over/under 2.5 goals market.
- Over 2.5 Goals @ +110
- Under 2.5 Goals @ -137
Under 2.5 goals has been the outcome in four out of five of Gregg Berhalter’s team.
In the 1-0 defeat to Panama, the USA team had just five attempts on goal, with zero on target. They look like a team very short on confidence at the moment.
While in Costa Rica’s five qualifying matches to date, under 2.5 goals has been the winning bet on four out of five matches.
The only downside to this pick is that the one time Costa Rica’s match did have over 2.5 goals, was last Sunday’s 2-1 home win.
That said the match against the USMNT will be a different proposition. Instead of needing to go for the win this time, the Costa Ricans will be happy to sit back and take a low-scoring draw.
With form like that, the only pick that is possible in this market is under 2.5 goals at -137.
Both Teams To Score Betting
- Yes @ +120
- No @ -150
Moving onto the betting in the both teams to score market, and again this looks a tricky one to call.
I can see a bit of 1-1, but also 1-0 either way, or even 0-0 isn’t impossible here.
I don’t see great value in either price here, and as I’m on the draw at +350 with BetOnline, I’m reluctant to bet on this one.
If pushed to give a pick, I would have to side with no at -150.
As alluded to above, the US is low on confidence, and Costa Rica would gladly take a 0-0 draw and look to pick up wins elsewhere.
