Suriname vs Costa Rica

Costa Rica will be looking to all but secure their place in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup knock-outs when they meet out-of-form Suriname at the Exploria Stadium.

Despite standing their ground for most of their Matchday 1 encounter against Jamaica, Suriname suffered a 2-0 defeat and can ill-afford to drop more points if they are to make it out of the group stages. It could be easier said than done, considering they take on a Costa Rica side they have lost to in all three competitive H2H meetings in the 21st century by an aggregate scoreline of 14-2. Additionally, Suriname’s drop-off in form has seen them go from four consecutive competitive triumphs to back-to-back defeats, both of which saw them lose by over 1.5 goals ‘to nil.’ What’s more, ‘A-Selektie’ have never won a match at the Gold Cup final tournament, losing all but one of their nine outings in the competition (D1).

In the meantime, Costa Rica eased past Guadaloupe 3-1 in their Group C curtain-raiser, netting two goals inside the opening 21 minutes of play. The Matchday 1 success should come as a massive confidence boost for Luis Fernando Suárez’s men, who had gone winless in their previous 11 matches across all competitions (D3, L8). Indeed, Costa Rica’s flying Gold Cup start could be somewhat deceiving when it comes to their scoring abilities, as they had netted under 1.5 goals in ten of their 11 internationals prior to a victory over Guadaloupe. With that said, ‘Los Ticos’ have successfully negotiated their Gold Cup group stage campaigns in each of their last 11 appearances at the tournament. Furthermore, they have lost just one of their previous seven Gold Cup group phase matches (W5, D1).