Spain 7-0 Costa Rica: Player Rating as Gavi among the goals as La Roja run riot

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Spain were emphatic winners against Costa Rica in their opening 2022 World Cup match, with Barcelona teenager Gavi among the scorers.

Gavi marked becoming Spain’s youngest player at a major tournament with a goal in an emphatic 7-0 win over Costa Rica as La Roja kicked off their Qatar 2022 campaign in style.

Group E rivals Germany suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Japan earlier on Wednesday, but Spain did not look under any threat after Dani Olmo gave them an 11th-minute lead.

That was La Roja’s 100th World Cup goal and another two followed inside the opening 31 minutes through Marco Asensio’s strike and a Ferran Torres penalty.

Torres doubled his tally early in the second half and Gavi then steered in a delightful volley, before substitutes Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata added two more late on.

Spain vs Costa Rica player ratings, World Cup

1. Spain (4-3-3)

Gavi, Alejandro Balde
Gavi was unbelievable / Clive Mason/GettyImages

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 midfielder in defence.

CB: Aymeric Laporte – 6/10 – Had an early miscommunication with Busquets but was fine from there on in.

LB: Jordi Alba – 8/10 – Like Azpilicueta, there have been questions over Alba’s continued involvement with the Spain setup, but he rolled back the years with a classic lung-busting performance here.

DM: Sergio Busquets – 7/10 – Another of Enrique’s old guard who looked right at home in such game played at their own pace.

CM: Gavi – 10/10 – How about that for a major tournament debut? Gavi flittered between the lines and looked the spit of the legendary midfielders who preceded him.

CM: Pedri – 8/10 – Ditto. Spain’s future is in safe hands as long as the Barcelona duo remain fit.

RW: Ferran Torres – 8/10 – The quietest of Spain’s front three but still scored twice had joy running down both flanks.

CF: Marco Asensio – 8/10 – Whether running in behind or dropping deep, Asensio looked like a natural centre forward and gave Costa Rica’s defenders headaches throughout.

LW: Dani Olmo – 9/10 – Worked perfectly in tandem with his fellow attackers and supporting-cast midfielders.

SUB: Alvaro Morata (57′ for Torres) – 8/10

SUB: Carlos Soler (57′ for Pedri) – 7/10

SUB: Alejandro Balde (64′ for Alba) – 7/10

SUB: Koke (64′ for Busquets) – 6/10

SUB: Neco Williams (69′ for Asensio) – 7/10

Manager: Luis Enrique – 9/10 – The ideal start. Enrique’s selection decisions were vindicated and his players put in a top performance.

2. Costa Rica (4-4-2)

Keylor Navas
A rare picture of the ball in Navas’ hands / Clive Mason/GettyImages

GK: Keylor Navas – 2/10 – Should have probably done better with Spain’s second goal. Helpless regardless.

RB: Carlos Martinez – 1/10 – Torn inside-out by Olmo before being hooked at half-time. A day to forget.

CB: Oscar Duarte – 1/10 – Got too tight to Alba when giving away the penalty.

CB: Francisco Calvo – 2/10 – Only marginally better than Duarte in that he did not give away a penalty.

LB: Bryan Oviedo – 2/10 – One of Costa Rica’s more experienced heads wasn’t much use at either end.

RM: Keysher Fuller – 1/10 – Naturally a right-back, Fuller did little to help Martinez in their battles with Olmo, Torres and Alba.

CM: Celso Borges – 3/10 – Did little to win the midfield battle, though that was understandable up against Gavi, Pedri and Busquets.

CM: Yeltsin Tejeda – 3/10 – Yeah, seriously, this was a battle they just were not going to win.

LM: Jewison Bennette – 4/10 – Looked lively on the break but had little support.

CF: Joel Campbell – 2/10 – Like Oviedo was unable to make his 2014 experience count.

CF: Anthony Contreras – 3/10 – Anonymous throughout.

SUB: Kendall Waston (46′ for Martinez) – 2/10

SUB: Alvaro Zamora (62′ for Contreras) – 2/10

SUB: Bryan Ruiz (62′ for Bennette) – 2/10

SUB: Brandon Aguilera (72′ for Borges) – N/A

SUB: Ronald Matarrita (82′ for Oviedo) – N/A

Manager: Luis Suarez – 3/10 – There’s not much he could have done about such an early collapse, but Costa Rica looked hopeless throughout.

Player of the Match – Gavi

 

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