If the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup is to eventually come down to Canada vs. the United States, Sunday’s match will be part of the path to that final for the Canadians. Legal North American online sportsbooks favor them to nab three points toward qualifying for the knockouts.
The same goes for Costa Rica, which will play later in the day. Costa Rica’s contest against El Salvador looks like it might be the more attractive contest for bettors looking to turn a profit on some wagers.
Canada vs. Paraguay details, handicapping
The Canadians got off to a strong start on Matchday 1 and are again heavy favorites to move further toward winning Group C. This will be the first-ever meeting of the nations’ women’s national football teams.
- Kickoff: 5 p.m. New York/Toronto time, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024
- Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas
- Broadcast — ESPN in Parguay, OneSoccer in Canada (English and French language), CBS or Paramount+ (English-language), ESPN (Spanish language) in the United States
- Previous matches: Canada 6-0 vs. El Salvador, Paraguay 1-0 vs. Costa Rica
Canada comes into Sunday on a four-match winning streak and has gone 7-2-1 in its previous 10 contests. Canada has netted 20 goals and is +13 in terms of goal differential in that stretch. The Canadians have also recorded clean sheets in each of their past four matches.
Paraguay is 4-5-1 in its past 10 tests and has failed to put together back-to-back wins over that series. In that set of matches, Paraguay netted 22 goals and posted a +1 goal differential over the course of those 10 appearances.
While the number of goals that these teams have scored over their combined previous 20 matches suggests that the over on the goal total is in play on this contest, bettors have to pay attention to the fact that Canada hasn’t allowed a goal since October. Bettors will have to decide for themselves if Paraguay has the talent to end that streak.
Costa Rica vs. El Salvador details, handicapping
While Canada looks to be the strongest team in Group C right now, the competition for the other club to proceed to the knockouts looks to be wide open right now. This match represents a renewal of what has developed into a rivalry.
- Kickoff: 8 p.m. New York/Toronto time, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024
- Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas
- Broadcast — ESPN in both Costa Rica and El Salvador, OneSoccer in Canada (English and French language), CBS or Paramount+ (English-language), ESPN (Spanish language) in the United States
- Previous matches: El Salvador 0-6 vs. Canada, Costa Rica 0-1 vs. Paraguay
Sunday will mark the fifth meeting of these nations’ teams since October of 2011, with Costa Rica claiming the previous four contests. However, the most recent of those took place in August of 2019, so it’s likely that many of the players who will be on the pitch Sunday will be facing the opposition for the first time.
Costa Rica has gone 3-5-2 over its last 10 matches, getting shutout in each of its last two tests. Costa Rica has notched an impressive 34 goals over its past 10 appearances, but 30 of those goals came across two matches against Saint Kitts and Nevis. Overall, Costa Rica has a +21 goal differential in its past 10 but again, that number is skewed by the 19-0 and 11-0 wins over Saint Kitts and Nevis.
El Salvador approaches Monday having went 8-2-0 over its previous 10 matches and was on an eight-match winning streak prior to dropping the result against Canada. El Salvador has a goal differential of +15 over its last 10 appearances, netting 30 goals.
Given the recent form, it’s hard to blame any bettors who seriously consider taking El Salvador on the moneyline in this contest.
