Including friendlies, Switzerland is unbeaten in its last eight games with a record of 5-3-0, conceding only three goals over that eight-game span. With another win on Wednesday against Costa Rica, the team could earn its spot in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup.
Switzerland vs. Costa Rica odds 2018: Swiss solid favorites for Wednesday World Cup contest
Switzerland will try to lock up a spot in the knockout round of the 2018 World Cup with a win Wednesday facing Costa Rica as clear betting favorites at the sportsbooks.
Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Switzerland is a -145 betting favorite to pick up three points with a win at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Costa Rica will attempt to play spoiler as a +525 underdog to win outright and a +240 underdog to force a draw.
Group E: Switzerland vs. Costa Rica
When: Wednesday, June 27, 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Betting Line / Total: Switzerland -145 / 2 Goals
Switzerland has had an impressive showing so far in Russia. Known best for their stifling defense and holding on to leads, the Swiss have shown some versatility in this year’s tournament after conceding the first goal in each of their first two games.
The team found an equalizer against Brazil and held on for a strong result in a 1-1 draw with the Group E favorites, and did one better against Serbia in finding both an equalizer and a late go-ahead goal in a 2-1 victory.
Now facing the weakest team in the group in Costa Rica, the Switzerland side will try to avoid the theatrics with a more dominant effort from start to finish.
Costa Rica is still looking for its first goal in this year’s World Cup after losing 1-0 to Serbia and 2-0 to Brazil. Over their last 10 games, the Costa Ricans are just 2-0-8 with a current stretch of four straight losses. The two wins over that 10-game run came in friendlies against lowly opponents in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Costa Rica isn’t as bad as some of the other teams that fell two-and-out in this year’s World Cup, but in a group as deep as this one it was clearly destined for a spot in the cellar.
Wednesday’s total is set at 2 goals. Costa Rica is the only team in this year’s World Cup that has yet to record a goal.
Switzerland entered the 2018 World Cup with only one loss in its last 19 matches and ranked sixth in the FIFA World Rankings. While the Swiss aren’t currently mentioned in the same category as the major contenders in this tournament, they could change that with a strong showing in the knockout round.
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