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Spain Outclass Costa Rica With Sparkling Performance

Spain outclassed Costa Rica with an impressive 7-nil defeat in their World Cup opener at the Al Thumama Stadium.

2010 champions cruised to victory with two goals from Ferran Torres, but Gavi’s superb volley was the best of their seven goals.

Dani Olmo and Marco Asensio both missed with their first shots in the first ten minutes for the Spaniards, but they did not have to wait long to grab the lead.

When Olmo encountered Gavi’s deft chipped ball into the box, he utilised his muscle to hold off Oscar Duarte and then sprinted into space to perfectly slot past the charging Keylor Navas.

Costa Rica, which was the last team to qualify for Qatar, had a rocky start, and things swiftly grew worse for the 2014 quarterfinalists.

Once again, Spain moved unimpeded along the centre of the field before the ball was stretched left to Jordi Alba, whose driven cross was met forcefully by Asensio. Navas, however, could not deny the goal.

Just after the halfway point, after Duarte had hacked at Alba in the area, Torres converted a penalty kick by sending Navas the wrong way.

After the break, Torres took advantage of more shoddy defence to increase the score to 4-0 by rushing into the area, picking up a loose ball, and then neatly hitting home.

The 18-year-old Gavi found a finish to match his amazing performance after meeting a cross from substitute Alvaro Morata, adding polish to an already brilliant performance.

After Navas mishandled a cross, another sub, Carlos Soler, increased the score to six, and in stoppage time, Morata completed the scoring after a one-two with Olmo.

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