Belgium vs Costa Rica 12/06/18

12 June 2018

After a comfortable 3-0 victory over Egypt in the midweek, Belgium are set to host struggling Costa Rica at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, as their final warm-up match ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Although Los Ticos are one of three teams from the CONCACAF continental confederation that found their way to the final tournament, they are yet to find consistency and stability in 2018, considering they have won two and lost three out of the previous five international friendlies they have played this year, including a 2-0 loss to England in the midweek. As for De Rode Duivels, their last defeat dates back to 2016 and that 2-0 loss to Spain in a friendly match, but Roberto Martinez’s team haven’t lost a single game ever since, achieving a total of thirteen victories in eighteen encounters.

For the second time in history, Belgium and Costa Rica will meet each other, with Les Diables Rouges beating the Central American team by a narrow 1-goal margin back in 2002.

Despite the fact, Martinez left Radja Nainggolan out of the World Cup squad, Belgium still reside among the top teams in the world, and with the likes of Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Mertens, they have one of the most devastating offensive department in the world football. Bryan Ruiz and Oscar Duarte both remained on the bench against the Three Lions, and will probably start the match from the first minute.