Luis Enrique leads his Spanish team into their 16th World Cup, with a lot of questions asked of his team selection, which sees 20 players out of the 26-man squad, playing at World Cup for the first time. Noticeable absentees are Sergio Ramos and Thiago who have proven to be classed as the ‘elite’ in their position for years. A risk by Enrique, but he will have a talent group of players who are desperate to impress.
Costa Rica who qualified through a 1-0 victory against New Zealand in the play offs, will look to replicate their success in 2014 that saw them top their group and reach the quarter final stage. With what (on paper) looks to be one of the toughest groups to get through – with Spain and Germany the obvious picks to progress, it’s vital Costa Rica start strong and get a foothold in the game because if they allow Spain to settle and the play the ‘tika-taka’ football we know they can play. It’s going to be tough to see Costa Rica getting anything from this one. Costa Rica will take confidence from winning 4 of their last 5 games in the lead up to Qatar but they’ll be under no illusion that the quality of opposition they are now facing is much tougher.
It’s hard to see anything other than a dominant Spain performance, with Costa Rica very rarely seeing the ball. It’s only a matter of time before Spain find the back of the net in this one.
Score Prediction: 3-0
Bet Prediction: Spain -1 Goal Handicap – 4/9
