Making their first appearance in the top tier of the CONCACAF Nations League, Guadeloupe will open the new campaign against Costa Rica on Thursday at Estadio de Costa Rica.
Last season, Panama eliminated Los Ticos in the quarter-finals of this tournament, 6-1 on aggregate, while Les Gwada Boys finished first in their League B group with 15 points.
Match preview
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Costa Rica begin the 2024-25 Nations League season under new management, with Claudio Vinas being named the caretaker manager in August following the resignation of Gustavo Alfaro.
A former assistant of Marcelo Bielsa with the Argentine national team, Vinas takes charge of a side that were knocked out in the group stage of the Copa America this past summer despite holding Brazil to a 0-0 draw and defeating Paraguay 3-1 in their final encounter.
Since exiting the Nations League quarter-finals last year, Los Ticos have won four consecutive matches versus CONCACAF opponents by a combined margin of 12-1.
The Costa Ricans have lost three straight Nations League contests, with their previous victory in this competition taking place in March 2023 against Martinique (2-1).
Los Ticos have only claimed victory in one of their four Nations League group games on home soil, defeating Martinique 2-0 at Estadio de Costa Rica in June 2022.
They have emerged victorious from all three of their previous meetings with Guadeloupe, with the last one being a 3-1 win at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.
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At long last, Guadeloupe will feature in League A of this tournament thanks to a strong campaign in the second tier a year ago, topping a group that featured Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten and Saint Lucia.
Jocelyn Angloma's men came on strong as their previous Nations League campaign wore on, winning their final three encounters without conceding a single goal.
Their only three defeats in League B over the past two editions of this tournament were all away from home, squandering a 1-0 lead at Saint Lucia, their only loss in the competition last year (2-1).
This side have not played a competitive fixture since their previous Nations League campaign ended with a 5-0 victory over Saint Kitts and Nevis last November.
In their three Nations League campaigns, the Guadeloupeans have never picked up a single point when conceding the opening goal and have never scored when that has happened.
Guadeloupe have not claimed a positive result versus Central American opposition since defeating Guatemala on penalties in a 2021 Gold Cup qualifier (10-9) in July of that year.
Team News
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There were nine players chosen to the Los Ticos side for this encounter who play their club football in Costa Rica, including four at Herediano, Aaron Cruz, Andy Rojas, Fernan Faerron and Haxzel Quiros.
Goals from Josimar Alcocer and Francisco Calvo were enough for them to win their previous competitive fixture over Paraguay at the Copa America.
Four Guadeloupean players chosen for this international window have yet to feature with the national team, Noah Cadiou, Keyvan Beaumont, Christophe Denisse and Rubens Adelaide.
In their previous encounter against Saint Kitts and Nevis, Tairyk Arconte had a brace, with the other goals coming courtesy of Jerome Roussillon, Kilian Bevis and Matthias Phaeton.
Costa Rica possible starting lineup:
Sequeira; Mitchell, Cascante, Calvo; Lassiter, Brenes, Bran, Aguilera; Campbell; Alcocer, Madrigal
Guadeloupe possible starting lineup:
Bartouche; Cavare, Saintini, Gravillon, Roussillon; Coco, Baron, Solvet; Tell, Ambrose, Phaeton
We say: Costa Rica 3-0 Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe were impressive in League B a year ago, but Costa Rica boast many more talented players than they faced in 2023, and we expect the Guadeloupeans will learn a hard lesson on Thursday.
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