Objective:

to analyze home advantage and the influence of scoring first on match outcomes in 14 Costa Rican professional soccer championships from 2012/13 to 2018/19.

Methodology:

a total of 1848 games were examined considering the match outcome (winner, draw or loser), the localization (home and away) and the order of scoring (first and second). Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were applied.

Results:

it was shown that local teams achieved a greater number of victories (Z = -4,51; p < 0,01) and scored more goals (Z = -4,51; p< 0,01) than the away ones. Home advantage was 62.46 % and this did not differ significantly among the championships (H = 10,86; p = 0,62). The advantage of scoring first was 78.86 % for home teams and 72.26 % for away ones. When the home team scored the first goal, they won 73.73 % of their matches, while the away ones ended up winning 58.12 % of their matches (χ. = 53,674; p < 0,001; phi = 0,17, V = 0,17). The top 4 teams in the ranking scored more goals and won more games both at home and away and had a superior scoring first advantage when played away compared to the teams than occupying the other positions.

Conclusion:

playing at home and scoring the first goal represented an advantage for teams to achieve positive results in the Costa Rican soccer championships analyzed.

Implications: these results can guide the staff coach to propose strategies to front facing matches both at home and away.