Costa Rica vs Jamaica

Costa Rica and Jamaica will trade tackles at the Exploria Stadium as the two nations battle it out for a top place in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group C.

Costa Rica came from a 1-0 deficit to claim a 2-1 victory over Suriname last time out to maintain their 100% start to the 2021 Gold Cup campaign (W2). Indeed, ‘Los Ticos’ won both group stage fixtures by over 1.5 goals ‘to one.’ scoring at least one second-half goal on each occasion. Costa Rica’s 2021 Gold Cup showings represent a significant turnaround on their pre-tournament form that had seen them go winless in 11 internationals on the bounce (D5, L6 – 90 mins only). Adding to their confidence, Luis Fernando Suárez’s men have suffered just three defeats in their last 15 Gold Cup matches (W7, D5). Furthermore, Costa Rica have gone unbeaten in eight competitive meetings with Jamaica since going down 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in September 1997 (W5, D3).

In the meantime, Jamaica overturned an early deficit to pull off a tight 2-1 win over Guadaloupe on Matchday 2 following a 2-0 victory over Suriname in their tournament curtain-raiser. As a result, the ‘Reggae Boyz’ are undefeated in their last eight matches in all competitions (W7, D1) since suffering a 3-1 reverse to the United States in the 2019 Gold Cup semi-finals. What’s more, Jamaica have lost just three of their last 19 Gold Cup fixtures (W11, D5) despite netting an average of just 1.31 goals per game across that spread of matches. In turn, Theodore Whitmore’s men have drawn a blank in back-to-back encounters against Costa Rica, conceding four goals in return. Jamaica’s defensive woes have also seen them let in at least one goal in six of their last seven outings, friendlies included.