Nicaragua vs Costa Rica Prediction & Betting Tips

Home struggles versus a patchier away record

Nicaragua's home sample this year makes for tough reading. Across 17 matches at home they've won just four, drawn three and lost ten, shipping 29 goals while scoring only 17. That's a side that's regularly been second best in their own backyard.

Nicaragua: 17 completed matches; Costa Rica: 20 completed matches.

Nicaragua

17 matches

Win

23.5% 4 / 17

Draw

17.6% 3 / 17

Loss

58.9% 10 / 17

Scored

17

Conceded

29

Difference

-12

Costa Rica

20 matches

Win

40% 8 / 20

Draw

35% 7 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

45

Conceded

31

Difference

+14

Costa Rica's away form looks sturdier on the surface. Eight wins, seven draws and five losses from 20 matches, with 45 scored against 31 conceded, points to a side that can be competitive on the road. But their most recent away outing was a 3-4 loss to Curaçao, so it's not been plain sailing either.

Costa Rica's away numbers read better overall, though their defending has slipped in the most recent match.

Comparative Team Statistics: Nicaragua vs Costa Rica

Head-to-head: one draw, one landslide

These two met twice in 2025 World Cup qualifying. Nicaragua drew 1-1 at home in September, then Costa Rica turned things around with a 4-1 win when they hosted a month later.

Further back, Costa Rica beat Nicaragua 4-0 in a 2019 Gold Cup meeting and the two played out a goalless draw in 2017. Most of the recorded history has Costa Rica hosting, so this reversed venue is a bit of a change from the pattern.

The two most recent meetings swung wildly, from a share of the points to a heavy defeat, which doesn't give a clean read on current form.

Names that stood out last time these sides met

In the most recent head-to-head data, C. Mora scored twice for Costa Rica, with O. Galo teeing one up, showing they've got players capable of hurting Nicaragua when games open up.

Nicaragua:

Penalty cards:

Ó. Acevedo x 1

J. Moreno x 1

Costa Rica:

Best scorers:

C. Mora - 2

Best assist providers:

O. Galo - 1

For Nicaragua, B. Bonilla got on the scoresheet with R. Cole supplying an assist, while Ó. Acevedo and J. Moreno each picked up a yellow card in that fixture. It's only a small sample from one match, though, so it doesn't confirm who actually starts this time round.

What could shape this one

This is a Nations League fixture rather than a World Cup qualifier, so the context is slightly different from most of the recent sample. Nicaragua's home defending has been leaky all year, conceding close to two goals a game on average in this run.

Costa Rica haven't been watertight either, as that Curaçao defeat shows, and the head-to-head history between these two has produced goals at both ends when they've met recently. Neither side looks like a side that shuts up shop.