Brazil is heading into the 2024 Copa America with uncertainties about how far they can go in the tournament. With only one player, Alisson Becker, starting in the recent friendlies against the United States and Mexico, manager Dorival Junior will have to finalize his lineup for the match. Expect to see Vinicius Junior, Bruno Guimaraes, Marquinhos, and their star Liverpool goalkeeper in the starting lineup.
On the other hand, Costa Rica has seen changes in their squad with the retirement of key players like Keylor Navas and Celso Borges. Familiar names like Kendall Waston, Ronald Matarrita, Bryan Oviedo, and Yeltsin Tejeda are also absent from the squad. This will be a new-look team compared to the one that made a semifinal run at the Gold Cup in 2017. Despite these changes, Costa Rica is still led by Joel Campbell and Francisco Calvo, who are the only players with more than 27 caps in the current roster.
The match will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California and will be broadcast on FS1. Brazil will be focused on getting their defense right for the upcoming matches against Colombia and Paraguay. Manager Dorival Junior has been experimenting with different defensive combinations in the recent friendlies. On the other hand, Costa Rica will look to players like Manfred Ugalde, Brandon Aguilera, and Ariel Lassiter to step up in the absence of some key players.
Despite these challenges for both teams, it’s predicted that Brazil will come out on top with a 4-1 victory over Costa Rica. It’s an important game for both teams to set their tone for their Copa America campaigns as they continue their journey towards becoming champions of South America’s most prestigious soccer competition.
