Ferran Torres bags brace as Spain thrash Costa Rica

A rampant Spain cruised to a 7-0 win over Costa Rica in their opening Group E clash at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

After Germany's surprise 2-1 defeat to Japan in the group's opening game, La Roja knew that a win would put them in a strong position ahead of their clash with Die Mannschaft this coming Sunday - and an utterly dominant display was capped by strikes from Dani Olmo, Marco Asencio, Gavi, Carlos Soler, Alvaro Morata and a brace from former Man City forward Ferran Torres. 

Action: Luis Enrique's Spain wasted little time in wresting control of the contest at the Al Thumama Stadium and early efforts from RB Leipzig's Dani Olmo and Real Madrid forward Marco Asencio signalled their intent. 

The Iberians immediately found their rhythm and passed their way effortlessly through the Costa Ricans in the early stages. 

It was very little surprise, therefore, when Spain opened their account in the 10th minute when a lovely one-two between Olmo and Gavi allowed the former to pirouette on the edge of the six yard box and lift a cute finish over Keylor Navas in the Costa Rica goal. 

With their metronomic passing game in full effect, Spain could have opted to sit back and dominate possession. However, Enrique's side were hungry for goals - possibly learning from Germany's inability to protect their lead earlier in the day against the Blue Samurai - and they were soon two goals to the good. 

Costa Rica's defenders were conspicuous by their absence when Spain's second arrived on the 20 minute mark, Barcelona's Jordi Alba finding Asencio with a cross from the left, and the forward sweeping home a lovely finish. 

Going into the fixture, Spain had only ever scored three goals in a World Cup before the break on one occasion, all the way back in 1934 against Brazil, but they matched that feat here in Qatar when former Man City forward Ferran Torres added a third prior to the interval. 

'Los Ticos' were again the architects of their own downfall, as defender Oscar Duarte had a nibble at Alba in the box before clumsily clipping the Barcelona man, who had no compunction in hitting the deck. Up stepped Torres, who scored from the spot with ease to give the Spanish a 3-0 lead at half-time. 

After the break, it was very much more of the same and Spain hit their fourth goal of the contest on 54 minutes when Navas got in a muddle on th edge of his six yard box and Torres turned sharply to fire past Costa Rica's captain. 

With the game very much in their pocket, Spain withdrew Torres and midfielder Pedri - the former becoming only the third player to score twice on their World Cup debut for Spain after David Villa v Ukraine in 2006 and Jose Iraragorri in the aforementioned clash v Brazil in 1934. 

There was still more than enough time for Spain to emphatically seal victory with three more goals. First, sub Alvaro Morata crossed for Gavi to steer a lovely finish in via the outside of his boot, then another sub Carlos Soler got in the act with a crisp right footed strike before Morata bagged La Roja's seventh himself. 

🇪🇸 Most goals scored by #Spain in a #WorldCup game:

7⃣ v COSTA RICA (Qatar 2022)
6⃣ v Bulgaria (France 1998)
5⃣ v Denmark (Mexico 1986)#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 #VamosEspaña pic.twitter.com/Nu4RvwZp6n

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) November 23, 2022

Magic moment: Having already fired a very presentable opportunity wide, Leipzig man Olmo made the early breakthough for Spain and his clever spin in the box and dinked finish exemplified the touch and technique shown throughout by La Roja. 

Man of the match: There were plenty of candidates to choose from, but we'll plump for 18-year-old Barcelona wonderkid Gavi. Costa Rica were perhaps not the stiffest competition in the world, but Gavi evaded his opponents throughout. His part in Olmo's opener coupled with his fine goal earn him our MoM award. 

xG: Spain (3.79) 7-0 (0.00) Costa Rica

Stat of the Day: At 18 years, three months and 19 days old, Pablo Gavi becomes the third-youngest player ever to score at a World Cup.

👶Youngest to score in a #WorldCup:

17Y 7M 28D: 🇧🇷Pelé v Wales (Sweden '58)
18Y 3M 3D: 🇲🇽Manuel Rosas v Argentina (Uruguay '30)
18Y 3M 19D: 🇪🇸Pablo Gavi v Costa Rica (Qatar '22)
18Y 6M 9D: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Michael Owen v (France '98)#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 #VamosEspaña #ESPCRC pic.twitter.com/9iNRp3cgJY

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) November 23, 2022