Spain 1-0 Costa Rica: What’s your prediction?
The young Spain players at the heart of coach Luis Enrique's new-look side make their global debut on Wednesday when they face the experienced veterans of Costa Rica in their Qatar World Cup opening match.
With captain Sergio Busquets the lone survivor of the Spain team that won the 2010 tournament in South Africa under then coach Vicente del Bosque, Luis Enrique has blooded a new generation of players in preparation for Qatar.
Barcelona midfielders Pedri, 19, Gavi, 18, plus their Catalan club teammate Ferran Torres, 22, are three of the young faces in the fresh-faced Spain side.
Luis Enrique - who led the Reds to the semi-finals of the Euros last year where they were eliminated by Italy on penalties - has picked 14 players aged 25 or under, and the average age of the squad is the third youngest among the 32 teams in Qatar.
For Costa Rica, playing in their sixth World Cup, the picture is almost the complete opposite.
Six of their squad members were part of the 2014 campaign, when Costa Rica qualified from a 'Group of Death' at the expense of Italy and England, and they are all now aged 30 or over, including striker Bryan Ruiz who is 37.
Colombian coach Luis Fernando Suarez's team are known for their solidity - they conceded only eight goals in qualifying - and for their ability to counter-attack, potentially posing a threat to Spain's 33 year-old defender Cesar Azpilicueta if he starts.
But the age of some of Costa Rica's core players will pose challenges beyond the physical demands of the game. Goalkeeper Keylor Navas has not played a competitive game for his club Paris St Germain in five months after losing his place to Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma.
When?
23rd November, 10:00 pm, Bangladesh time
Where?
Al-Thumama Stadium, Al Thumama, Qatar.
Head-to-head
Matches 3
Spain 2
Costa Rica 0
Draw 1
Key stats
* Spain are now one of the dominant forces of the world game, recently having won the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 as well as the World Cup in 2010.
* Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain enjoyed a record-equalling 35 match unbeaten run which included a 15 game winning streak.
* Spain won six out of their eight 2022 World Cup qualifying games, losing 2-1 in Sweden and drawing 1-1 at home to Greece.
* Costa Rica are the third most successful CONCACAF nation and have qualified for three World Cup finals.
* Costa Rica have failed to win their last six matches at the World Cup (in regular time).
* Costa Rica have won two (v Uzbekistan and Nigeria) and drawn one (v Korea Republic) pre-World Cup friendlies.
Previous meetings: The two countries have met only three times, all in friendly games. Spain won two of them -- 2-1 in 2015 and 5-0 two years later -- and one match ended in a 2-2 draw (2011).
Prediction: Spain 1-0 Costa Rica
Probable lineups
Spain: (4-3-3) Simon, Alba, P.Torres, Garcia, Carvajal, Busquet, Pedri, Gavi, Sarabia, Morata, F.Torres
Costa Rica: (4-4-2) Navas, Oviedo, Calvo, Duarte, Fuller, Bennette, Tejeda, Borges, Torres, Contreras, Campbell.
Following is a statbox on Spain
FIFA Ranking: 7
Odds: 8-1
Previous tournaments:
Spain made their World Cup debut in Italy in 1934 and have appeared in every tournament from 1978. They won the trophy in 2010 to join seven other nations that have won at least one title along with Brazil (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (2), France (2), Uruguay (2) and England (1). Since lifting the trophy, they were knocked out in the group stage in 2014 and in the last-16 in 2018.
How they qualified:
Spain had to wait until their last group game to seal their World Cup qualification, winning 1-0 at home against Sweden to finish top of Group B on 19 points, four ahead of the Swedes in second place in a group that also included Greece, Georgia and Kosovo.
Form guide:
After reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals, losing to eventual champions Italy in a penalty shootout, and losing the Nations League final to France three months later, Spain beat Portugal 1-0 to qualify for the Nations League final four for the second consecutive year.
Following is a statbox on Costa Rica.
FIFA Ranking: 31
Odds: 500-1
Previous tournaments:
Costa Rica have appeared in five World Cups since their debut in 1990. Their best performance came in 2014 when they topped a group with Uruguay, Italy and England before they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Netherlands on penalties.
However, they crashed out in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup after finishing bottom without a win.
How they qualified:
Costa Rica failed to grab an automatic berth after finishing fourth in the CONCACAF qualifiers behind Canada, Mexico and the United States. They had an identical record to the U.S. but missed out on third spot due to goal difference.
Six of Costa Rica's seven wins were by one-goal margins and that trend continued in the inter-confederation playoff where they beat New Zealand 1-0 in June to qualify.
Form guide:
Since beating the U.S. in their final World Cup qualifier, Costa Rica have had mixed results in the CONCACAF Nations League, losing to Panama but beating Martinique.
However, they stepped up their preparations for the World Cup in September with a 2-2 draw against South Korea after going down to 10 men, following it up with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Uzbekistan when both of their goals came in injury time.