Nicaragua vs Costa Rica Prediction and Betting Tips

Nicaragua will face Costa Rica at the Estadio Nacional on Friday in the opening game of the CONCACAF 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers third-round clash. The home side performed brightly in the second round of the qualifiers, picking up wins over Montserrat, Belize, and Guyana to finish second in Group D, three points behind Panama.

La Azul y Blanco were beaten 3-0 by Panama in their most recent outing and could have no real complaints about the result after managing just one shot on target throughout the contest.

Costa Rica enjoyed an even more dominant performance than their weekend opponents in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers, winning all four of their group games by an aggregate scoreline of 17-1. They featured in the CONCACAF Gold Cup during the last international break, making it past the group stages before losing on penalties to eventual finalists the United States of America in the quarterfinals.

Los Ticos will be looking to mark their return to action this weekend with a win and lay down an early marker for the rest of the group.

Nicaragua vs Costa Rica Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

Friday's game will mark the 19th meeting between the two nations. Nicaragua have won just one of their previous matchups while Costa Rica have won 17 times, with their final contest ending level.
The two teams last faced off in the 2019 Gold Cup with the visitors winning the group-stage clash 4-0.
Nicaragua's last and only win in this fixture came back in February 1950 when they beat Los Ticos 1-0 in the Central American and Caribbean Games.
La Azul y Blanco are ranked 130th in the latest FIFA rankings and sit some distance behind their weekend opponents in 40th place.

Nicaragua vs Costa Rica Prediction

Nicaragua have lost three of their last four outings, failing to score any goals in each of those defeats and will need something extra special this weekend to pick up a positive result.

Costa Rica, meanwhile, saw their latest result end a five-game unbeaten streak, and they will be looking to bounce back here. They have had the upper hand in this fixture historically and should pick up maximum points on Friday.

Prediction: Nicaragua 0-2 Costa Rica

Nicaragua vs Costa Rica Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: Costa Rica to win

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Six of the hosts' last eight matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of the visitors' last seven matches)

About the author

Jedidiah is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda, who has been covering match previews for more than 3 years. Currently pursuing an engineering degree from the University of Ibadan, he conducts thorough research and ensures to be up-to-date with football news across the globe to create the most accurate previews.

A Manchester United fan, Jedidiah fell in love with football and the Red Devils since their UEFA Champions League triumph over Chelsea in 2008. He is a big fan of Robert Lewandowski and his historic performances from 2020, but feels that only Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are capable of replicating the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. His all-time favorite manager is Carlo Ancelotti due to the Italian's remarkable composure in difficult moments of a contest. Spain's 1-0 win over Netherlands in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is etched in his memory forever.

A true student of the game, Jedidiah relishes identifying hidden gems from lower-tiered leagues such as the EFL Championship and the Eredivisie. When not creating previews, he likes playing football and reading books.

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