Spain eye winning start over Costa Rica

Spain will be looking to start their World Cup win with all three points as they take on Costa Rica at the Al Thumama Stadium today.

Costa Rica, on the other hand, will be looking forward to their skipper Keylor Navas producing yet another magical performance on the global stage.

Spain will look to keep their disappointment of the last two World Cups behind them, and they have a squad full of youth to find the rhythm and speed early on.

Luis Enrique has the squad of his choice at his disposal, which did not include Sergio Ramos, meaning Aymeric Laporte and Eric Garcia will be the starters in defence. Cesar Azpilicueta and Jordi Alba will be the full-backs with a midfield trio of Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Koke.

The front three is likely to be filled by Marco Asensio, Alvaro Morata, and Ferran Torres, while Ansu Fati and Nico Williams are set to appear from the bench.

In 2014, Spain lost their opening game 5-1 to Netherlands, leading to their group-stage exit. In 2018, they got out of the group but were knocked out by Russia in the next round.

This time, they come with confidence from reaching the semis of the Euro 2020, and also playing the final of the Nations League. Yet, their defence will be a worry for them as it has not been as solid as one might want it to be. Even in their warm-up game for the World Cup, they conceded to Jordan, who are 77 steps below them in the FIFA rankings.

Another problem for the Spaniards will be their struggles in front of the goal. While their midfield is likely to keep hold of the ball and churn out chances to finish, the form of their attackers makes putting them away a concern. Morata has not been in his best touch, and the same is with Ferran, while Fati has not been able to find the net as regularly as he did before his injury, albeit he scored against Jordan.

But they will be confident because of their pool of serious young talents. Pedri has already made himself a name, while his club teammate Gavi has always impressed playing for La Roja. Their young wingers, Williams and Yeremi Pino give them both pace and flair, while late inclusion left-back Alejandro Balde is a great runner with the ball.

On the other hand, Costa Rica will be looking to repeat their heroics from 2014, when they topped a group which included the likes of Uruguay, England, and Italy.

They will rely once again on their excellent skipper Keylor Navas to produce one good performance after another in the goal.