Japan Women v Costa Rica Women

Japan Women vs Costa Rica Women Preview

Japan will be looking for more of the same on Wednesday night after their comprehensive 5-0 thrashing of Zambia in the opening game of Group C when they take on Costa Rica at Dunedin Stadium knowing that another win here could more than likely seal their place in the knockout round of this tournament.

If there were any doubts as to Japan's potential lack of cutting edge up front, Futoshi Ikeda's side lay any concerns to rest in no uncertain fashion after their 5-0 landslide win against Zambia which became Japan's second 5-0 victory on the trot as the Japanese also inflicted a heavy loss upon Panama just before the start of this World Cup in an international friendly.

That's now four wins in the last five matches overall for Japan who are heavily tipped to emerge from Group C along with co-favourites, Spain, and having registered earlier wins against Canada and Portugal, Japan will surely have no trouble in dispatching Costa Rica here on Wednesday night.

Interestingly, Over 2.5 goals and both teams to not score has resulted in three of Japan's last five games.

Costa Rica have been handed a tough opening set of fixtures in Group C as they were dealt a heavy 3-0 defeat by Spain in their first match in this group stage of the World Cup and they must now be fearing the worst as they now have to face an in-form and free-scoring Japanese outfit at Dunedin Stadium on Wednesday night.

With just one win from their previous 12 matches in all competitions, the odds look well and truly stacked against a Costa Rican win here, especially as Amelia Valverde's side have also slipped to nine defeats within this poor sequence of results as well.

Four of these nine defeats have also resulted in Over 2.5 goals scored and both teams not scoring as well and Costa Rica have still yet to record their first win at World Cup level after they failed to win any of their three group matches in their last appearance in the tournament back in 2015.

The bigger picture shows Costa Rica have captured just two wins in their previous 19 matches in all competitions which does not bode well for this upcoming encounter with Japan.

Japan W v Costa Rica W Verdict

It is over six years ago since Japan last met Costa Rica but it was the Japanese that prevailed with a 3-0 win back in April 2017 and we shouldn't be too surprised if a similar scoreline unfolded at Dunedin Stadium on Wednesday night to seal Japan's place in the knockout round.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals & Both Teams To Score No @ 1.90

Other side bets worth considering:

Over 3.5 goals @ 1.83

Correct score: Japan 3-0 @ 5.50