The 2018 World Cup has not been the best tournament for South American teams and with just a point after their Sportsbook game against the Swiss, the Brazilians know this all too well. La Canarinha seemed to be waiting for Neymar to create something and he never did. If they come with a similar mentality against Costa Rica, the Green and Yellow could frustrate bettors once again.
- South American teams are 0-6-2 against the spread in this tournament.
- Brazil has 8 consecutive wins against Costa Rica.
- Neymar will be fit to play after an injury scare in training.
Betting Odds for Brazil vs Costa Rica
Entering this contest as the justified heavy moneyline chalk at Sportsbook, Brazil will more than likely be the publicly backed side at -475. Coming back at +1500, Los Ticos will be looking to break an eight-match losing streak against Brazil in this one.
Brazil, -1.5-goal favorites on the spread, could become the first South American side to cover at this tournament. Sportsbook the spread at 2, oddsmakers have cooled a bit on Brazil but this opens the door for bettors looking for some value on Tite’s boys.
A total of 2.5 will have many punters looking UNDER with teams from CONMEBOL owning a 1-5 OVER/UNDER record at this point in the tournament. We all know what Brazil is capable of if they can get the Costa Ricans to loosen their grip on the parking brake, though, and if the Green and Yellow start feeling it, they could easily topple this total.
Does Neymar Help or Hinder Brazil?
Drawing 10 fouls against Switzerland (most of which were in non-threatening positions) Neymar saw a whole lot of the ball in Matchday 1 and an injury scare in training in the lead-up to the Costa Rica fixture begged the question – is Brazil better off without him?
A ball-hogging tendency can take away from Brazil’s team flair at times and it often slowed their forward attacking momentum against Switzerland.
Neymar can certainly break a game wide open on his own but he’s surrounded by world-class players who are more than capable of doing the same. If Brazil is going to win this game and cover a spread, they need to get everyone involved and that starts with the talismanic – and apparently healthy – PSG man.
Best Bets for Brazil vs Costa Rica
I’ve already gone on record as liking Brazil on the -2-goal spread at +110 on the OddsShark FC podcast and with the value on that play bumping up to +135 since that recording, I like it even more.
Neymar or not, Brazil needs to pound Costa Rica if they want to win Group E. The Serbs are favored against Switzerland in Matchday 2 and they could come into their group play finale with six points.
Bet on the 2018 World Cup here
