Not many people expected these two teams to play at this stage in Recife. Costa Rica amazingly won their group that featured Uruguay, Italy and England. They recorded seven points including shock wins against Uruguay and Italy. Greece were in trouble after only managing a draw in their first two matches. Greece saved their best performance for the last group game against Ivory Coast. They scored a late goal in each the first and second halves to send them to the next round in dramatic fashion.
Costa Rica has been very organized defensively. Oscar Durate and Giancarlo Gonzales have turned in great performances in the back. Offensively, the Ticos have been inspired by 21-year-old striker Joel Campbell and captain Bryan Ruiz. Greece also are an organized side that defends well. They won’t make many mistakes and rely on a counterattck going forward. Georgios Samaras was the hero of the match against Ivory Coast. Captain Giorgos Karagounis was also inspirational that match. The 37-year-old is a valuable leader for the Greeks.
Prediction: Costa Rica 1, Greece 0
This will be a low scoring game and both teams will struggle to create chances. Costa Rica will break through in the second half.
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