Just one spot remains up for grabs at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and we’ll know who it belongs to on Tuesday when Costa Rica and New Zealand meet in the intercontinental playoff. Australia punched their ticket on Monday by beating Peru in penalty kicks, and this last spot sees Los Ticos as the favorites, aiming to make their third straight trip to the competition. Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
Date: Tuesday, June 14 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium — Doha, Qatar
TV: FS2 and Universo | Live stream: fuboTV (Get access now)
Odds: Costa Rica -118; Draw +170; New Zealand +370 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
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Storylines
Costa Rica: Los Ticos are here by way of finishing in fourth place in Concacaf, and they enter having just played in Nations League play, losing to Panama 2-0 and beating Martinique 2-0. Clinching this spot thanks to the 2-0 win over the United States to round out qualifying in March, they turned it on when they needed to, going unbeaten in their final seven qualifiers, winning their last four. An aging team that doesn’t have much pop in attack, they balance that out by having one of the world’s best goalkeepers in Keylor Navas.
New Zealand: Another team with attacking issues, they failed to score in their two friendlies leading into this match. While they have shown ability in attack by scoring four goals in three of their last four official matches, that came against Fiji, New Caledonia and Solomon Islands. When it comes to the squad, this is a very inexperienced one outside of a few key figures like Newcastle’s Chris Wood. Somebody is going to need to be the creator, and Torino’s Matthew Garbett may be the guy. They must be discipline in defense and look to find the head of Wood.
Prediction
Navas is stellar in goal, and Joel Campbell scores on the counter as Costa Rica return to the World Cup. Pick: Costa Rica 1, New Zealand 0
