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Gold Cup Odds: Will Costa Rica Edge Panama in QF?

Don Aguero

by Don Aguero in Soccer News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:38 AM PST

Campbell celebrates a goal
Danilo Borges/Portal da Copa [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en]

Costa Rica (-114) vs Panama (+410), Draw (+236)

Costa Rica edged past Canada to finish on top of their group at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. As a reward, they’ll face Panama instead of host nation USA in the quarterfinals (Wednesday, July 19th; 6:00 PM ET at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia).

The Costa Ricans came into the tournament as the best upset pick. While Mexico and the US remain the favorites to claim the cup, Costa Rica’s group stage performance (2-1-0) should be taken seriously, notwithstanding the loss of star striker Joel Campbell. They opened the competition with a tough match against Honduras, surviving a bunch of close calls until San Jose’s Marco Ureña opened the scoring. After that, the game was put on lock and Costa Rica coasted to victory.

 

 

Against Canada, they equalized with an unlikely goal by Minnesota United defender Francisco Calvo. They had plenty of opportunities to take the lead after that, but in the end settled for a 1-1 draw.

In their final game against French Guiana, they finished with an easy 3-0 win with goals from David Ramírez, Ariel Rodríguez, and Rodney Wallace. They closed the group stage with five goals from five different players.

Missing from the list of goalscorers was Costa Rica’s World Cup hero, Joel Campbell. Their star striker suffered a serious knee injury during their game against Canada, which could rule him out for the next six months.

Even without Campbell, Costa Rica remains a heavy favorite to get by Panama and move onto the semifinals. Panama was unlucky to have finished second in their group, losing the top spot to the US on a tiebreaker. They’ve had an impressive run so far, coming back from a goal down against both the US (1-1) and Nicaragua (2-1) while also thrashing Martinique (3-0).

They’ve got a clinical goalscorer in Gabriel Torres, and field a few notable MLS players like Toronto FC’s Armando Cooper and NYC FC’s Miguel Camargo. But overall, their squad doesn’t compare well to the favorites.

Both countries are off to a great start at the Gold Cup, but Costa Rica is definitely the better squad on paper. They’re notoriously tough to beat and, even with Campbell on the bench, they have a deep pool of talent to draw from. They’re worthy of their short odds and the smarter play for bettors. 

Pick: Costa Rica (-114)

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