England v Costa Rica Betting Tips: My 16/5 Shot
| Market | Selection | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Total Goals | Under 3.5 | 8/15 |
| Both Teams to Score | No | 4/9 |
| Total Corners | Under 10 | 8/15 |
| Total Tackles | Under 31.5 | 1/2 |
| Total Bet Builder Odds with bet365 | 16/5 |
Odds correct at 10:30 BST on 08/06/26. Odds subject to change.
No Expiry Date
I’ve used bet365 here, one of our best football bookmakers, because of the range of bet builder markets they offer. They’ve produced some strong odds on the quirkier angles, meaning that I can strangle some value out of this match.
The Match Situation
England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on 17 June, so this is essentially their last dress rehearsal. The key angle is that this is just a tune-up for Thomas Tuchel and his men – they’re playing for participation ribbons, not gold medals.
I’d expect England to dominate possession, rotate the squad, and look to avoid injuries rather than attempt to put up a cricket score. That was the situation we saw in their last game against New Zealand. Costa Rica will sit deep and look to defend and, if they do go ahead, England are unlikely to commit too many bodies forward in a hurry.
Ignoring individual player markets and the like, this is the way I’m going:
Back Under 3.5 Goals
I don’t want to be a doom-monger here or anything, but this probably won’t be high-scoring. England beat New Zealand 1-0 the other day, Spain drew 1-1 with Iraq, Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 – you get the picture. The serious nations aren’t putting too much into these friendlies.
Winning a game 5-0 is not, as people label it, “easy”. It takes effort to keep running forward and create chances, and it’s not something England will want to do too often at the risk of injury.
The mission right now is to knock the ball around, get some minutes into some legs, and take very few risks. I reckon there won’t be much in this unless there’s an early sending-off.
Back BTTS – No
There’s always a slight risk with this bet, because one breakaway or a lucky goal can knacker it. On balance though, this looks pretty safe to me. Costa Rica is a massive underdog here, while England went through World Cup qualifying without conceding a single goal.
Since November, Costa Rica have lost 1-0 to Haiti, drawn 0-0 with Honduras and 2-2 with Jordan, they lost 5-0 to Iran and 3-1 against Colombia. They aren’t exactly full of goals and will probably draw another blank here.
Back Under 10 Corners
If Costa Rica sit deep, as expected, then they won’t be winning much in England’s defensive third. For their part, England won’t be playing with full intensity, and that means a lack of marauding full-backs creating blocked crosses. The corner count is likely to be pretty low.
Back Under 31.5 Tackles
This is another selection that tracks for me. Costa Rica aren’t at the World Cup, and don’t have as much to lose, but even so, they’re still likely to sit back and hope for a solid defensive display. England certainly won’t be trying overly hard and will keep possession once they have it.
The Central American side are averaging around 15 tackles per game, but that includes competitive matches. I think we will potentially see fewer than 30 tackles here, but I’m playing for a bit of insurance.
