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Jamaica national football team
World Cup Qualifying - North Central America | Third Round
Feb 3, 2022 at 12am UK
Independence Park
Costa Rica national football team

Jamaica
0 - 1
Costa Rica


Williams (13')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Campbell (62')

Preview: Jamaica vs. Costa Rica - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's World Cup Qualifying - North Central America clash between Jamaica and Costa Rica, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Costa Rica will aim to extend their unbeaten run to four games when they travel to Kingston for a World Cup 2022 qualifying fixture with Jamaica.

The hosts, meanwhile, will be in low spirits after two consecutive qualifying defeats all but ended their hopes of reaching Qatar.


Match preview

Jamaica's Daniel Johnson celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on January 27, 2022© Reuters

With only four games left to play, Jamaica find themselves 10 points adrift of the CONCACAF playoff place, leaving their dreams of qualifying for a second World Cup finals in tatters.

Despite a valiant display against Mexico, the Reggae Boyz could not avoid slipping to a 2-1 defeat, but they had the opportunity to bounce back on Sunday against Panama.

Jamaica started the contest brightly with Michail Antonio scoring from the spot before Panama missed a penalty of their own, but a Javain Brown own goal ensured that the teams went into half time level.

Eric Davis struck six minutes after the restart to give Panama the lead before Azmahar Ariano netted to double the home side's advantage, and although Andre Gray found the net late on, Jamaica were unable to salvage anything from the contest.

Although qualification may be out of reach, Paul Hall's side still have pride to play for and a victory on Wednesday would represent only Jamaica's second win of the qualifying campaign.

Costa Rica players look dejected after their defeat against Mexico on September 5, 2021© Reuters

Costa Rica, meanwhile, still harbour hopes of qualifying for Qatar after collecting seven points from their last three qualifiers.

After holding Mexico to a goalless draw on Sunday, Los Ticos find themselves four points adrift of the playoff spot and five points behind the automatic qualification places.

Following a run of impressive results, Costa Rica now turn their attention towards an away trip to Jamaica where a victory would certainly boost their chances of qualifying for a third consecutive World Cup finals.

The main concern for Luis Fernando Suarez will be that Los Ticos have struggled on their travels in qualifying picking up just three points away from home, while the result against Mexico was the third time that Costa Rica have played out a goalless away draw in the qualifying campaign.

Having scored just one goal in their five away qualifiers, Wednesday's visitors may have to play a slightly more expansive game if they are to collect the three points in Jamaica.

Jamaica World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • L

Jamaica form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • L

Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • D



Team News

Jamaica coach Paul Hall on January 27, 2022© Reuters

Jamaica could bring Damion Lowe back into the side after the defender missed the Panama contest through suspension.

Junior Flemmings and Lamar Walker could also return to the starting lineup after dropping down to the bench on Sunday.

After scoring his third international goal, Antonio will once again feature in the Jamaica forward line.

Meanwhile, Gerson Torres is expected to retain his place in the Costa Rica lineup after coming into the side for the trip to Mexico.

In fact, following their resolute display on Sunday, the visitors could name an unchanged starting XI for the Jamaica contest.

If they do opt for an unchanged side, Bryan Ruiz will have to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring twice in the qualifying campaign.

Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; Brown, Lowe, Pinnock, Lawrence; Morrison, Williams, Johnson; Walker, Flemmings, Antonio

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:
Navas; Fuller, Waston, Calvo, Oviedo; Tejeda, Borges, Salas; Torres, Martinez, Campbell


SM words green background

We say: Jamaica 1-2 Costa Rica

Jamaica will enter the contest in low spirits after suffering consecutive qualifying defeats, and with Costa Rica unbeaten in their last three internationals, they head into the encounter in a buoyant mood and with qualification still a realistic possibility, we think that Los Ticos will have that extra motivation to claim the three points.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 2.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Jamaica win with a probability of 40.64%. A draw had a probability of 30.3% and a win for Costa Rica had a probability of 29.08%.

The most likely scoreline for a Jamaica win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.33%) and 2-1 (7.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (13.36%), while for a Costa Rica win it was 0-1 (11.84%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 11.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Costa Rica would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Jamaica vs Costa Rica

Jamaica
21.1%
Draw
14.1%
Costa Rica
64.8%
71
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