World Cup 2022: The power of champions rises up- Spain destroys Costa Rica

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After the shocking losses of Argentina and Germany, there were no surprises when Spain faced Costa Rica. "La Roja" has a completely superior match against the representative from the CONCACAF region. It only took 11 minutes for Luis Enrique's team to have the first score. Dani Olmo has a situation to penetrate Costa Rica's penalty area and skillfully finish. The contributor in this situation was Gavi, when the young Barca talent had the wise pass, helping his teammates score. At the age of 18 years and 110 days, Gavi became the youngest player in Spain's history to appear in a major tournament (the World Cup or EURO). He and Pedri have complete control of the midfield.

The  4-3-3 squad system of the Spain team worked smoothly and controlled the game. The high pressing ability of the Olmo-Asensio-Torres trio and the passing and handling skills of Pedri or Gavi helped "La Roja" have a easy match.

The goal by Marco Asensio in the 21st minute or a brace from Ferran Torres in the 31st and 54th minutes showed the superiority of the European representative. At that moment, three players in the attack owned their goals, which demonstrated the power of the Spain attack in the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The ability to pass the ball combined with intense pressing helps Spain create a faster tiki-taka than in their heyday a decade ago. Statistically, Spain completed 549 passes in the first half. That's the most passes in World Cup history by any team.

The chart of Spain's positions and passes after the first half shows how well coach Luis Enrique's system works.

Leading 4-0 and in a dominant position after only an hour of play, coach Enrique used all five substitutions when the game was more than 20 minutes away. He gave the other players the opportunity and tried out a new strategy. 

However, testing the new strategy did not mean that Spain wanted to stop scoring. After the failure of Germany in the match against Japan, scoring many goals will help Spain take advantage of the difference that can help them gain a ticket to the next round in case they have an unfavorable result against the other two opponents in the next leg.

Their plan is success. In turn, Gavi (74th minute), Carlos Soler (90th minute), and Alvaro Morata (90 + 2) scored, thereby completing a 7-0 victory for Spain. The beating of Costa Rica helped "La Roja" lead the Group of Death in the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

Numbers and records

0: This is the number of shots that Costa Rica can finish in the match against Spain. This is only the second instance of a team failing to finish in a World Cup match since 1966, after Costa Rica itself against Brazil in 1990. 

2: With both Gavi and Pedri starting, Spain was the first European team to name two players under the age of 20 in the starting line-up for a World Cup match since Bulgaria vs. England in 1962 (Jechev and Sokolov).

3: In the first half of match, Spain had 3 goal. This is the second time La Roja can do it at the FIFA World Cup competitions after the first time in the match against Brazil in 1934.

18: At 18 years and 110 days, Pablo Gavi became the youngest player to play for Spain at a Euro final or a World Cup.  Gavi is also the youngest scorer in a World Cup match since Pele in the 1958 final against Sweden (17 years, 249 days). 

100: Dani Olmo has scored his 100th goal for Spain at the World Cup, making La Roja the sixth team to achieve this milestone in tournament history, after Brazil (229), Germany (227), Argentina (138), Italy (128), and France (124).

537: This is the most successful pass in the first half of a World Cup match since 1966.

With the performance and the number about the match between Spain and Costa Rica, Spain is the fear for any opponent. The strength of champions came back. In the match on November 28^th, Germany should be careful and try their best to gain points.