Costa Rica will be taking on Jamaica in Group B of the 2015 Gold Cup this Wednesday, July 8 when they get together at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Costa Rica is favored to win the group as they’re ranked 14th in the world by FIFA and are the top-ranked side in CONCACAF. Jamaica is ranked 65th in the world.
Costa Rica vs Jamaica – 2015 Gold Cup Soccer Betting Preview
- bet365 currently lists Costa Rica to win this match at 4/5 with Jamaica 15/4 and a 90-minute draw at 23/10.
Costa Rica is aiming for their first Gold Cup championship and they’ve done well lately as they won the Group of Death at the 2014 World Cup against England, Italy and Uruguay. However, just 11 members of the World Cup squad are on the roster for the Gold Cup. Currently, the team’s best players are 23-year-old forward Joel Campbell of English Premier League club Arsenal, 33-year-old goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton of Alajuelense in Costa Rica and 29-year-old captain Bryan Ruiz of English Championship League side Fulham. Ruiz, who can play forward and midfield, is appearing in his third Gold Cup tournament.
Jorge Luis Pinto took Costa Rica to last year’s World Cup in Brazil, but he left to manage Honduras. Costa Rica’s new boss is former player Paulo Wanchope who scored 45 times in 73 matches for the team and also played in the English Premier League and MLS. The 38-year-old Wanchope was an assistant to Pinto last summer. The Gold Cup was launched back in 1991 and Costa Rica has made it to each and every tournament since then except in 1996. They were runners up in 2002 when they were beaten in the Final by the U.S. They’ve also made it to the semifinals four other times. The team did manage to win the CONCACAF Championship, which came before the Gold Cup, when they took it in 1963, 1969 and 1989.
Jamaica, also known as the Reggae Boyz, won the 2014 Caribbean Cup which earned them a spot in Copa America. However, they went 0-3 there recently and are aiming to do better at the Gold Cup. Their best players at the moment are 24-year-old speedy forward Darren Mattocks of MLS side the Vancouver Whitecaps, along with 30-year-old captain Rodolph Austin of English team Leeds United, and 26-year-old English-born forward Giles Barnes of MLS team the Houston Dynamo. The team is currently managed by Winfried Schafer, who took over the helm in July of 2013 after leaving Muangthong United of Thailand.
The 65-year-old German manager has also worked with the national teams of Thailand and Cameroon as well as club teams in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Jamaica’s best showing in a Gold Cup came back in 1993 when they finished third. They also made it as far as the quarterfinals in both 2003, 2005 and 2011. This is the nation’s ninth appearance at a Gold Cup tournament. Costa Rica and Jamaica have met 24 times in the past with Costa Rica winning 12, losing just three and drawing the other nine times.
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Written by Ian S. Palmer
