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

The opening matchday of Group C action in CONCACAF World Cup 2026 qualifying concludes on Friday with Costa Rica facing Nicaragua at the Nicaragua National Football Stadium.

In the previous qualification phase, the Nicaraguans finished second in their group with six points, while Los Ticos topped theirs with a perfect 4-0 record.

Match preview

A trip to the World Cup finals is as close as it has ever been for Nicaragua, who will feature in the last stage of qualifying for the very first time.

Ultimately, their strong early form enabled them to advance into this phase, winning their first three games before a decisive 3-0 defeat versus Panama on the final matchday.

Under Marco Antonio Figueroa Montero, this team were compact along the back end in the second round, posting three clean sheets in four matches.

Coming into this game, the Nicaraguans have lost three of their previous five competitive fixtures, with their only victory of the year occurring in a World Cup qualifier with Guyana (1-0).

They have won two of their previous three home fixtures played across all competitions, conceding just one goal on those previous two occasions.

It has been over 75 years since La Azul y Blanco earned a victory over Costa Rica, claiming a 1-0 triumph against them at the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games.

The Costa Ricans have their eyes on a fourth successive World Cup appearance, putting together a near flawless second round qualifying phase.

Miguel Herrera’s men had little trouble advancing from their group, putting together four dominant performances and outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 17-1.

Although they qualified for the Qatar finals in 2022, the Costa Ricans barely got in due to of a poor start in the final round of the qualifying phase.

Failing to win their first four games in the Octagon put them behind the eight-ball, but to their credit, they woke up just in time, winning their final four contests.

A 3-0 defeat in a friendly versus the USA in January was the only defeat this team have suffered all year to a CONCACAF team in normal time, though they have failed to win their last two contests against sides from the region.

Los Ticos are unbeaten in their previous 14 encounters with Nicaragua, winning 13 of those affairs and posting five consecutive clean sheets.

Nicaragua World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Nicaragua form (all competitions):

Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

Team News

Should he feature in their upcoming two qualifying fixtures, Jaime Moreno would move into a tie for fourth in all-time caps with Nicaragua alongside David Solorzano, while Byron Bonilla can surpass Marlon Lopez on Friday for seventh in that category.

In the second round, Moreno led the team with three goals, bringing his total to 14 with the national team, the second-highest all-time, while Miguel Rodriguez collected two clean sheets.

Three Costa Ricans selected for this window can reach the quarter-century mark for caps with the national team on Friday, as Alonso Martinez, Manfred Ugalde and Orlando Galo are all on 24.

Galo had three goals for them in the second round of qualifying, as he and Warren Madrigal led the team in that department, though the latter was not selected for these upcoming September fixtures.

Nicaragua possible starting lineup:

Rodriguez; Quijano, Reyes, Cano, Acevedo; Coronel; Barrera, Belli, Arteaga, Montes; Moreno

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Navas; Mora, J. Vargas, Gamboa, Calvo; Galo, Bran; K. Vargas, Aguilera, Rojas; Martinez

We say: Nicaragua 0-3 Costa Rica

This is brand-new territory for Nicaragua, and we expect them to be overwhelmed by the moment against an experienced side that have been to this stage many times before and should have no trouble settling into the game.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.