Preview: Costa Rica vs Haiti - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides in search of their first victories in the final phase of World Cup 2026 qualifying will square off on Tuesday as Costa Rica welcome Haiti to Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica.

Surprisingly, Los Ticos drew 1-1 with Nicaragua on matchday one, while the Haitians held Honduras to a 0-0 result in their opening match of the final phase.

Match preview

For a second successive qualification cycle, the Costa Ricans have begun the final phase in less-than-ideal circumstances, failing to defeat a side ranked 90 places below them per FIFA.

Leading by a goal and with a man advantage for the final half hour, they let it all slip away, conceding an 81st-minute penalty while failing to do much with their 60% possession.

That draw ended an eight-match winning run for them in World Cup qualifying fixtures, though they have now avoided defeat in seven straight competitive games in normal time.

Costa Rica have won their last seven World Cup qualifiers at home, however, while going unbeaten in eight straight qualification affairs on Costa Rican soil.

Miguel Herrera has a 100% record as manager when his side are leading after 45 minutes, with the Central Americans winning all five of those encounters, scoring 27 goals over that run.

All six of their matches versus Caribbean opposition this year have gone the way of Los Ticos, the last one being a 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic at the Gold Cup this past summer.

Given the difficulties Haiti experienced over the past few months, a single point might be considered a moral victory for them against a Honduran side seeded 24 spots ahead of them in the latest FIFA rankings.

Sebastien Migne’s side fired seven efforts on target on Friday but failed to really threaten Los Catrachos, extending their winless run to five matches across all competitions.

On the positive side, they collected just their third clean sheet of 2025 after conceding five goals in their final round two qualification defeat versus Curacao (5-1).

Haiti have won their last two qualification affairs which took place away from home, failing to concede a single opening half goal in either of those instances.

They have not lost a World Cup qualifier when scoring the opening half goal since September 2008, when Los Ticos beat them 3-1 in a match played in Port-au-Prince.

Les Grenadiers are unbeaten in their previous three matches versus Costa Rica, coming from behind to beat them 2-1 in the group phase of the 2019 Gold Cup.

Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

Haiti World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Haiti form (all competitions):

Team News

There were two new faces in the Costa Rica starting 11 on Friday that did not begin their Gold Cup quarter-final fixture against the USA, with Joseph Mora and Manfred Ugalde replacing Alejandro Bran and Kenneth Vargas.

Alexis Gamboa put Los Ticos in front six minutes after Jason Coronel’s red card last week, the first international goal for the Alajuelense defender.

In the latter stages of their previous match, Yassin Fortune replaced Fabrice Picault to earn his first international cap, while Duckens Nazon reached 70 appearances and Carlens Arcus is two shy of 50.

Alexander Pierre replaced Johny Placide between the sticks the last time out, and the Sochaux goalkeeper made three stops to collect a clean sheet.

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Navas; Myrie, Calvo, Gamboa, J. Mora; Aguilera, Galo, Bran, Lassiter; Ugalde, Martinez

Haiti possible starting lineup:

A. Pierre; Arcus, Duverne, Ade, Lacroix; Bellegarde, L. Pierre, Jacques; Michel, Nazon, Picault

We say: Costa Rica 1-0 Haiti

Haiti had a stronger opening match but their lack of quality in the attacking third should see them concede plenty of good chances to a Costa Rican side that tend to react well after a disappointing result.

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