Live on ITV1: Sun 21.00: It’s 16/5 (Ladbrokes) for Costa Rica to beat Greece by one in the World Cup second round.
Few punters put money on Italy and England catching an early plane home having finished as the bottom two teams in Group D and even fewer backed Costa Rica to top the pile and ease through to the World Cup’s knock-out stage.
Similarly, Greece weren’t exactly well-fancied to reach the last 16, especially after losing their opening fixture emphatically to Colombia, yet they will face Los Ticos tonight for a place in the quarter finals.
Georgios Samaras secured Greece’s berth in the second round with an injury-time penalty against Ivory Coast but his teammates once again start as BetVictor’s 11/5 underdogs to overhaul the Central American side (13/8, bet365) in Recife.
At 11/5 courtesy of Paddy Power, a stalemate is clearly a result bookmakers are wary of, Ladbrokes post a potentially popular 4/1 against a score draw and it’s just 11/2 at William Hill to finish goalless.
However, the Costa Ricans have been a breath of fresh air in this competition so far and approaching this contest without fear they can prolong their campaign at the expense of the inconsistent Greeks.
They’re 5/6 (bet365) to get through and in a fixture that’s odds-on at 4/9 with Stan James to produce fewer than three goals in normal time, Jorge Luis Pinto’s team catch the eye at 6/1 via BetVictor to shade it 1-0. Alternatively, Ladbrokes offer 11/4 about a triumph for Los Ticos by a one-goal margin.
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Costa Rica to beat Greece by one – 16/5 (Ladbrokes)
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