Spain got its World Cup off to a pulsating start with a record 7-0 rout of Costa Rica as a Ferran Torres brace and a sumptuous strike from Gavi sent the team past the 100-goal mark in soccer's showpiece event on Wednesday.
The European giant put its stamp on a Group E stunned by Japan's 2-1 victory over Germany with a relentless attack against a shambolic Costa Rican side that gave Luis Enrique's team time and space to carve out chance after chance.
It was a night of records at Doha's iconic Al Thumama Stadium for a Spanish side that struggled at World Cups since winning the title in 2010, with the 18-year-old Gavi becoming the country's youngest World Cup player, and the youngest to score since Brazil great Pele in 1958.
While Costa Rica's clumsy defending may have aided Spain, La Furia Roja were seamless in their attacks, with Pedri the enabler at the heart of seemingly every move in a game where Dani Olmo, Gavi, Marco Asensio and Torres all dazzled.
They each found the net as Spain joined the 100 Club of World Cup goals, and late strikes from Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata sealed the nation's largest margin of victory in a World Cup match.
"I don't think it was Costa Rica being bad, I think the win was our merit," Olmo said. "We deserved to win, taking the game to them.
"Our team is strong and that is the path we need to follow. It was a boost of motivation, for sure."
Spain was in control from the first kick, with Costa Rica flustered by an early onslaught and unable to find any rhythm.
Spain could have gone ahead twice through chances by Olmo and Asensio.
The Spaniards scored 11 minutes in, when Gavi put the ball in Olmo's path and he turned and deftly lifted it over advancing 'keeper Keylor Navas.
Spain got its second at the 21-minute mark, when Jordi Alba's neat pass across the box found Asensio, who fired low past Navas.
Spain was awarded a penalty around the half-hour mark when Alba was brought down, with Torres sprinting towards the spot before pausing to calmly stroke the ball down the middle.
Costa Rica returned from the break and failed to record a single attempt on goal in the match.
Costa Rica, the last team to reach the World Cup via an intercontinental playoff, could struggle to earn any points in its last two games against Japan and Germany.
Defender Kendall Waston said the team would need to come together and fight back.
"We feel hurt and ashamed, it's a result that nobody wants to experience, to lose 7-0 in a World Cup," he said.
Coach Luis Fernando Suarez said his team was outplayed by a far superior side.
"They kept the ball throughout the match," he said. "We did the exact opposite, we didn't have possession, we didn't really attack. They played an amazing game and we didn't."
Source: The Japan Times
BDST: 1017 HRS, NOV 24, 2022
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