Costa Rica World Cup Preview
Costa Rica are the luckiest team to be in the World Cup. They rode the coattails of goalkeeper Keylor Navas all the way through CONCACAF qualifying and eventually beat New Zealand in a playoff to reach the World Cup.'
If you want the definition of an xG overperformer, it's Costa Rica. They went all the way through World Cup qualifying with a +6 goal differential but a -4.43 xG differential. The reason for that is because their defense ran insanely hot on the back of Navas playing out of his mind in net. Costa Rica allowed only eight goals over the entirety of World Cup Qualifying, but they allowed their opponents to create 20.03 xG. In six matches against their three toughest opponents (USA, Mexico and Canada), Costa Rica created just 5.17 xG but allowed 7.2 xG.'
| Chances To… | Action Projections | bet365 Odds |
| Win Group Stage | 0.93% | +5000 |
| Advance To Knockout Round | 7.25% | +800 |
| Win World Cup | 0.01% | +75000 |