Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Costa Ricavs.HondurasHonduras

sportsmole.co.uk, 21 March 2024, 19:32
The final place at the 2024 Copa America will be determined on Saturday afternoon when Costa Rica and Honduras face each other in a playoff at Toyota Stadium.

Los Ticos were knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the CONCACAF Nations League by Panama, 6-1 on aggregate, while La H were eliminated from their tie with Mexico on penalties.

Match preview

Costa Rica played catch-up from the early stages of their quarter-final tie versus the Panamanians, conceding after just four minutes in the opening leg.

Five of their six goals conceded in that tie came in the opening half, while this team have given up three or more goals in three of their last four matches in all competitions.

Gustavo Alfaro won his first match as the national team manager last month, when the Costa Ricans defeated El Salvador in a friendly played at their national stadium in San Jose (2-0).

It has been nearly eight years since they featured at the Copa America, which took place in the United States in 2016 when they were eliminated in the group stage, finishing third.

The Costa Ricans have won just one of their last six matches played on American soil, defeating Martinique at the 2023 Gold Cup 6-4.

They have not lost to the Hondurans in normal time since a 1-0 defeat in an October 2013 World Cup qualifying fixture played in San Pedro.

After an opening leg where everything went right, the opposite was true for Honduras when playing at altitude inside Estadio Azteca.

Reinaldo Rueda's side seemed to be playing to maintain their 2-0 advantage from the opening leg, but that strategy and all their time-wasting ultimately backfired as the Hondurans conceded in the 11th minute of stoppage time and could not hold their nerve in the shootout.

La H have only featured in the Copa America once before, making it out of their group before eventually finishing third at the 2001 tournament.

Honduras have earned a result in their last four matches in all competitions in which they found the back of the net but have failed to score in eight of their last 12 competitive fixtures.

They have lost their last three encounters when conceding the opener, though Los Catrachos have won six consecutive matches in all competitions when scoring first, collecting a clean sheet the last four times they have done so.

Since the CONCACAF Nations League debuted in 2019, the Hondurans have only faced a Central American opponent once, defeating Costa Rica on penalties to claim third place in June 2021.

Costa Rica CONCACAF Nations League form:

L

L

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

L

W

L

L

L

W

Honduras CONCACAF Nations League form:

L

W

D

W

W

L

Honduras form (all competitions):

W

D

W

W

L

L

Team News

There were five changes made to the Costa Rican starting 11 from leg one to leg two of their Nations League tie with Panama, with Julio Cascante, Francisco Calvo, Alejandro Bran, Elias Aguilar and Bryan Oviedo replacing Pablo Arboine, Juan Pablo Vargas, Joel Campbell, Yeltsin Tejeda and Jimmy Marin.

Haxzel Quiros picked up his first senior cap in their friendly against El Salvador, while Keylor Navas was recalled for this match and can collect his 113th cap for Los Ticos this weekend, which would put him in a tie with Rolando Fonseca for sixth all-time.

Campbell can move beyond Juan Ulloa and Celso Borges for fifth in all-time goals should he find the back of the net on Saturday, while a brace would move him into a tie for fourth alongside Bryan Ruiz.

Denil Maldonado and Enrique Facusse were each given red cards in their second-leg Nations League tie versus Mexico last November.

Jonathan Rougier is the only uncapped Honduran player selected for this window, Anthony Lozano is two caps away from 50 and Jerry Bengtson can hit 70 this weekend.

Bryan Rochez and Andy Najar missed their penalties in the shootout versus the Mexicans, relegating them into this playoff round.

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Navas; Lopez, Calvo, Cascante, Mora; Zamora, Bran, Lassiter; Campbell; Contreras, Ugalde

Honduras possible starting lineup:

Menjivar; Najar, Santos, Vega, Decas; Flores, Rodriguez; Rivas, Rosales, Ruiz; Lozano

We say: Costa Rica 1-0 Honduras

With Navas and many of the veterans back in the fold for Costa Rica, we expect them to play with much more composure than we saw in the Nations League quarter-final tie.

The Hondurans came close to upsetting El Tri in the last eight, but their inconsistencies in the attacking third has us leaning towards Los Ticos, who have often got the better of La H.

Previews by email

Top News

25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur left-back Sergio Reguilon is reportedly prepared to terminate his Lilywhites contract in order to secure an exit from North London in January. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reportedly ready to make an approach to sign Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton in the January transfer window as Pep Guardiola seeks to solve the champions' full-blown crisis. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Ruud van Nistelrooy has reportedly been earmarked for a top managerial role - just two weeks after departing Manchester United. 24 November 2024 talksport.com As Manchester United's new head coach walked across to salute the away section here at Portman Road, a young fan held up a card reading "Good luck, Ruben Amorim, make our team great again". 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City are reportedly interested in hiring Graham Potter following the sacking of Steve Cooper. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has suggested that Rodrygo, Aurelien Tchouameni and Lucas Vazquez could all be fit for his side's Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday night. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl has branded Leon Goretzka "an important part of the team", with the German giants working to keep hold of the central midfielder. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Closing out this gameweek 12's Premier League action, Newcastle United and West Ham United vie for three precious points at St James' Park on Monday evening. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has insisted that it will take time for the club's players to adapt to his new system following Sunday's 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in the Premier League. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid returned to second spot in the La Liga table and moved to within four points of the leaders Barcelona courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Leganes in Sunday night's clash at Estadio Municipal de Butarque. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Leeds have reached the Championship summit after winning 4-3 away to Swansea in an enthralling encounter. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Manchester United's new era under Ruben Amorim got off to the perfect start - before it ended in familiar fashion at Ipswich. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Trent Alexander-Arnold is a major doubt for Liverpool's blockbuster Champions League clash against Real Madrid this week. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Manchester United's new era under Ruben Amorim got off to the perfect start with a goal inside two minutes against Ipswich. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has joined an exclusive Premier League managers' club thanks to the Reds' thrilling 3-2 fightback win over Southampton at St Mary's. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City are reportedly interested in signing Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson in January. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Southampton have topped the standings in an unwelcome statistic after sloppily conceding at home to Liverpool. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Leicester City have announced they have parted company with manager Steve Cooper. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Arne Slot has continued his flying start to life in Liverpool after beating Southampton 3-2 at St Mary's Stadium. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Estevao Willian further extended his record-breaking season in the Brasileiro as Palmeiras defeated Atletico Goianiense on Saturday night. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool passed one of the most difficult examinations of their Premier League title credentials yet as they fought back from a goal down to triumph 3-2 over a spirited Southampton side at St Mary's. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City have announced the departure of manager Steve Cooper, with the 44-year-old being sacked off the back of Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly stepping up their attempts to sign Lille attacker Angel Gomes, with the North London club potentially getting a deal done during the January transfer window. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United and Manchester City will reportedly go head-to-head for the signature of Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres during next summer's transfer window. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Wayne Rooney is preparing a move for a young Liverpool striker who is the son of an ex-Birmingham City star. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk From dark horses to genuine contenders for the Serie A crown, Atalanta BC now hope to enhance their Champions League credentials on Tuesday, when they visit BSC Young Boys. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona are once again expected to be without the services of Lamine Yamal for Tuesday's Champions League contest with Brest, as the 17-year-old continues to battle an ankle problem. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aberdeen, looking to bounce back from their first league defeat of the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season, will travel to the Easter Road Stadium on Tuesday to take on basement dwellers Hibernian. 24 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to record their fourth Champions League victory of the campaign when they welcome French outfit Brest to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday night. 24 November 2024 talksport.com Malang Sarr's time at Chelsea was largely forgettable.
Thu 28 Nov, 17:45
EL
Qarabag Qarabag
-
sch
Lyon Lyon
Thu 28 Nov, 20:00
EL
Nice Nice
-
sch
Rangers Rangers