Japan vs. Costa Rica: 2022 World Cup Betting Odds and Prediction

Jordan Ramsay
November 26, 2022

Group E action for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar continues Sunday with Japan facing Costa Rica at 5 a.m. ET. Japan kicked its tournament off with a 2-1 upset win over Germany, while Costa Rica was crushed 7-0 by Spain.

Japan is a -241 favourite to win on the World Cup odds, while Costa Rica is a +619 underdog. A draw sits at +324 and the total is 2.5.

Japan -242
Draw +336
Costa Rica +647

Japan vs. Costa Rica Betting Odds

These teams have never met in a competitive match, but they have faced each other five times in international friendlies. Japan has come out on top in four of those matches, while the teams played to a draw in 2002. The last time they met was a 3-0 victory for Japan in 2018. Costa Rica has allowed three goals in each of its four losses and has been outscored 12-3 overall. Japan is riding a three-game win streak in head-to-head action.

Japan is -270 to open the scoring on Sunday with Daizen Maeda and Shuto Machino favoured at +560 each to get the goal. Costa Rica is +255 to score first with Joel Nathaniel Campbell Samuels and Anthony Contreras each sitting at +1100 to convert the strike.

Team Japan

Japan stunned Germany to open the World Cup on Wednesday, with substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano striking in the 75th and 83rd minutes respectively. Ironically, Doan and Asano both play for German club teams. Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda kept Japan in the game early on, making critical saves that earned him player of the game honours. Team Japan was outshot 26-12 overall and 9-4 for shots on target.

Asano was relegated to a substitute role because of a knee injury he suffered in September, but after his performance against Germany, the winger for Bundesliga club VfL Bochum could move to the starting XI against Costa Rica. Hiroki Sakai left with an unknown injury against Germany, so his status is unknown for Sunday. Takehiro Tomiyasu will likely start in Sakai’s place.

Team Costa Rica

It was a demoralizing blowout loss to open the World Cup for Costa Rica on Wednesday. They trailed Spain 3-0 by the half and eventually fell 7-0, giving up two penalty time goals. It was Costa Rica’s biggest ever World Cup defeat and Spain’s biggest win. Costa Rica didn’t manage a single shot, let alone a shot on target and they finished with just 18 per cent possession time. Costa Rica allowed Spain to become the first team in World Cup history to complete over 1,000 passes in a 90-minute game.

The positive for Costa Rica is the fact the team isn’t currently dealing with any injury issues. Playing in their third straight World Cup, Costa Rica has lost seven straight World Cup matches, going scoreless in five of those matches.