Can England Save Face Against Costa Rica: World Cup Betting Lines

England will try and save face in the match against Costa Rica before going home from the World Cup.

Yes, England have no chance of qualifying for the last 16 after losing out to both Italy and Uruguay, and due to the fact that Costa Rica beat Italy. However, the Three Lions will most certainly like the last game in the group to be a memorable one, providing a small consolation to themselves and the fans.

Their clash against the surprise Group of Death leaders Costa Rica has drawn lots of attention from punters at online sportsbooks in the United Kingdom. Costa Rica need only draw to guarantee themselves the top spot in the group. But Roy Hodgson’s men will certainly be looking for a win in order to shut the door on the World Cup in style.

Group of Death standings

Claudio Marchisio and Mario Balotelli found the back of the net during their game against England, and Daniel Sturridge’s goal wasn’t enough for the Three Lions to hold on to the points. Then it was Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez, who broke England’s hearts scoring twice and stealing thunder from Wayne Rooney, who scored his first ever World Cup goal.

England will try and get some consolation against Costa Rica in Group D
 
• Online sportsbooks in the UK are full of betting offers for the match

• Costa Rica need only a draw tonight to keep their top spot
• England have no chance of qualifying for the last 16

And of course later on Costa Rica sensationally beat Italy, taking away what little hope England had to qualify. Bryan Ruiz’s amazing header surely brought some heavy payouts for Costa Rica fans betting under British gambling laws. This allowed Costa Rica to take the lead in the Group of Death, whereas most of experts predicted that they will not even make it out of the group.

In tonight’s other fixture, Italy and Uruguay will be contesting who gets to qualify for the last 16 next to Costa Rica, and from which place in the group. Italy are of course feeling down after the defeat from Costa Rica, whereas Uruguay are upbeat after ousting England. In any case it’s a very hard fixture to predict, and that’s why it’s also highly popular with those who bet on sports in the United Kingdom. Costa Rica are the favorites to win the group with 1.14 odds, but Italy and Uruguay also stand a chance with 9.00 and 13.00 odds respectively.

Comments from the managers

Jorge Luis Pinto for Costa Rica, had the following comments before the game: “Of course we want to win the next match now and I must ask my players to keep calm and play just as well. We knew that we could make history for Costa Rica and we have done that.”

He concluded by saying: “That’s what I told my players – let’s change history. It was a beautiful match and the people of Costa Rica deserve this day. They have supported the team and me, and this was for them.”

As for the Three Lions’ coach, Roy Hodgson, he had the following to share: “I’m going to be picking the team with a view that all the players who are with us get some minutes on the field. I will be changing the team to give others a chance to show what they can do. It’s not purely about planning for the future and it’s not purely sentiment.”

Betting on the game and the teams’ form

England are coming into this game with a pretty bad history of matches: W D D L L, last one lost to Uruguay 1-2. While Costa Rica boast a much better statistics: W L D W W, the most recent being the 1-0 success against Italy.

As for the injuries, the Three Lions are still without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffering from a knee problem, but luckily have no other absentees or suspended players. The most probable line-up Roy Hodgson is expected to play with: Foster, Shaw, Jones, Johnson, Lallana, Smalling, Lampard, Rooney, Wilshere, Lambert, and Sturridge.

Costa Rica are in good shape and have no injuries nor suspensions, giving Jorge Luis Pinto plenty of choices for the starting 11. The line-up will probably consist of: Navas, Gamboa, Gonzalez, Umana, Bolanos, Duarte, Tejeda, Diaz, Borges, Ruiz, and Campbell.

England may not have played to their full potential, but online bookies still favor them in the upcoming match. The Three Lions get a line of 1.80 from Bet365, while Costa Rica had to settle for 4.50 odds to win the game. The draw stands at 4.00.

A draw or a win for England are the most probable outcomes here. 1-1 will pay at 7.50 odds, while 2-1 and 1-0 English wins deliver 8.00 and 8.50 odds respectively. The same results for Costa Rica pay at huge 15.00 odds, so it might be a smart wager for confident punters.

Daniel Sturridge is most likely to open the scoresheet with 4.50 odds, while Wayne Rooney is next with 7.00 followed by Rickie Lambert at 7.50, and Danny Welbeck at 8.00 odds. The first of Costa Rican players favored to find the back of the net is Joel Campbell at 9.00, while Bryan Ruiz got 11.00 odds to repeat the heroics he showed against Italy.