Los Ticos and El Tri lock horns in what should be one of the most intense games taking place in CONCACAF's qualifiers this Sunday.

The Final Round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers continues this Sunday with one of the most anticipated and historic games in this region. Costa Rica and Mexico will battle for all the points at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica with everything to play for and with history showing that both teams have a fighting chance to add three points to their tally.

Costa Rica enter this game after collecting a goalless draw in their first match of the qualifiers against Panama. There are good news and bad news for Luis Fernando Suárez after this game, since his team collected one point away from home, but the bad news for Los Ticos come when you realize they were not able to take a single shot on goal against Los Canaleros. Hence, the Central American team will have to put a little more effort on the attacking side of their game.

Los Ticos will have most of their big guns available for this game, including goalkeeper Keylor Navas and midfielder Bryan Ruiz, two of the team's veterans and members of the historic 2014 team that reached the Quarter-finals. Strikers Jonathan Moya and Joel Campbell will be in charge of trying to damage Mexico's net, while midfielder Jefferson Brenes will have to be cautious during this clash, as one more yellow card will earn him a one-match ban.

On the other side of the pitch, Mexico will try to win their second match of the qualifiers on Sunday after what turned out to be a disappointing first outing. Mexico did win against Jamaica, but the team's lack of depth complicated things for them when they should have taken home a more emphatic win. Coach Gerard Martino -who will not be inside the dugout due to a surgery- may want to make changes to his starting lineup, which may see Porto winger Jesús Corona, striker Henry Martín, and defender Luis Rodríguez grabbing a spot in the lineup.

Mexico enjoyed good performances by Alexis Vega and Henry Martín during the second half of the game against Jamaica, which will give Martino more options for this match, especially since striker Rogelio Funes Mori has not been as effective as the Argentine boss could have expected. The aforementioned Vega and midfielder Edson Álvarez are one yellow card away from being handed a one-match ban after Thursday's game.

For this game, coach Theodore Whitmore had to re-shape his squad. The absences of eleven footballers currently playing in the Premier League will diminish Jamaica's chances of success, especially since players such as Michail Antonio, Ravel Morrison, Bobby DeCordova-Reid and Leon Bailey will not be available for this game. With that in mind, the Reggae Boyz's boss will have to work with players such as Shamar Nicholson, Devon Williams or Kemar Lawrence, who have proven their worth for the black and yellow team previously.

This will be the 53rd game between the national teams of Costa Rica and Mexico. The outcome of those games favors El Tri with 29 wins. Meanwhile, Costa Rica has only been able to beat Mexico six times, most of those on home soil. The last two competitive games between these teams have ended in draws, although Mexico has been awarded the win after similar 5-4 results after penalties. Meanwhile, the last FIFA World Cup Qualifying match between these teams held on Costa Rican soil also ended in a one-all draw back on September 5, 2017. 

Broadcast info: Costa Rica vs Mexico

In Costa Rica: Teletica Radio, Teletica En Vivo, TD Mas, Teletica Canal 7.

In Mexico: Canal 5 Televisa, Azteca Deportes En Vivo, TUDN En Vivo, Blim TV, TUDN, Azteca 7.

In the U.S.: UNIVERSO, CBS Sports Network, Telemundo, Paramount+, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo.

In Canada: OneSoccer, CBS Sports Network.

In Panama: Viva.

In Turkey: S Sport+

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Costa Rica 0 - 1 Mexico

September 5, 2021 7:00pmEstadio Nacional de Costa Rica (San José)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

Live TV coverage and streaming in United States

CBS Sports Network
Paramount+
fuboTV
Telemundo
UNIVERSO
Telemundo Deportes En Vivo