Spain ensured they were not the latest high-profile nation to fall victim to a World Cup upset by thrashing Costa Rica on Wednesday.
The earlier result in Group E saw Germany lose to Japan in one of the shocks of the tournament so far, but Luis Enrique’s men took total control of their first match from the off.
Spain came close to taking a fifth-minute lead when Pedri’s beautifully weighted ball over the top of the Costa Rica defence met Dani Olmo, whose cushioned strike went just wide.
Pedri again was the creator of Spain’s next chance moments later, this time teeing up makeshift striker Marco Asensio, but the Real Madrid forward was unable to direct his effort towards goal.
La Roja went ahead with just 11 minutes on the clock through Olmo, whose clever one-two with Gavi over the top of the defence worked a treat, and the RB Leipzig star brilliantly brought the ball back down past Francisco Calvo before dinking over a helpless Keylor Navas.
That advantage was doubled midway through the first half when Jordi Alba’s cutback was delicately swept home by Asensio, with former club-mate Navas only getting a glove on the shot.
Oscar Duarte conceded a penalty just before the half-hour mark when his legs got in a tangle with Alba’s, and Ferran Torres kept his nerve from the spot to add Spain’s third of the day.
Spain notched up their fourth a few minutes after the restart. Francisco Calvo and Bryan Oviedo both failed to deal with a Torres dribble deep into their own box, with the Barcelona winger pinching the ball back and slotting past Navas.
Gavi volleyed in the fifth with a quarter of an hour remaining, racing into the penalty area and striking with the outside of his boot to meet Alvaro Morata’s cross and become Spain’s youngest scorer in World Cup history.
Spain’s sixth goal came in the last minute of normal time. A low cross from Nico Williams was spilled by Navas, allowing Carlos Soler to smash in the rebound.
The final goal of the rout was finished by Morata in stoppage time as Costa Rica’s day of misery came to an end.
GK: Unai Simon – 6/10 – Had very, very little to do. Acted as another outfielder as Enrique insists.
RB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10 – There were a few eyebrows raised when he was named in the starting XI. In hindsight, such a walkover was perfect for Azpilicueta to come in for the ill Dani Carvajal.
CB: Rodri – 6/10 – Enrique clearly doesn’t trust a lot of his centre-back options, starting a natural…
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