FIFA World Cup 2022 Spain vs Costa Rica Highlights: Spain thrash Costa Rica 7-0, sound warning bells to title rivals

A statement start if there ever was one to their campaign from the 2010 champions. They end the match with 72 percent possession which is just ridiculous. Costa Rica were a spent force after they conceded the third goal and so Spain's next match against a wounded and desperate Germany could be the real test. For now, though, Spain can enjoy a fantastic result to start off the tournament. 

There are a whopping eight minutes of added time, Costa Rica would be hoping that there were none. Excellently worked goal. Morata receives the ball at the edge of the box, creates space with a one-two with Olmo before firing it past his former Real Madrid team mate Navas. 

Spain's biggest ever win in the World Cup. Just to put things in perspective, they scored just eight goals in the 2010 tournament which they had famously won. Navas tries to palm away a cross from Nico Williams, only straight to the boots of Carlos Soler who sweeps into the empty net. 

Olmo floats a ball into the Costa Rica box and that is headed off by a Costa Rican defender. Spain have made well over 850 passes now. 

Spain's youngest-ever World Cup player has become their youngest ever World Cup goal scorer. Navas dives at Morata's food but the ball spills out and the Spain striker collects it to the left. He then lofts a pass to Gavi who is arriving in the box and the latter lasers in a perfect volley into goal.  

Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams replaces Marco Asensio. The game is fizzling away now, Spain facing almost no challenge at all. 

Torres replaced by Alvaro Morata so no hat-trick for him. Asensio is sure to take up Torres's place in the right and Morata will move into the traditional number 9. 

Torres gets his body in the way, turns around and puts it past Navas. Gavi cuts back to find Torres at the edge of the area. He charges in, loses the ball and the Costa Rican defenders lose it between themselves, allowing Torres to take it back, turn his body around and slot it. 

Costa Rica make a change, Kendall Waston replaces Carlos Martinez. They are going with five at the back now. 

Spain have had a total of 73% of the possession. They have 548 completed passes to their name while Costa Rica have had 73. That should tell you enough about how this game has been so far. 

Busquets gets the ball to Pedri with a smart little back flick and he passes it forward to Asensio inside the box. Asensio goes for it but can't find the target, shooting wide to Navas's right. 

Five more minutes for Costa Rica to bear before they can go back to the dressing room and do whatever they can to put this schooling behind. Spain have been brilliant but it has to be said that Costa Rica have hardly been able to provide a good reason for the 2010 champions to panic at any place in the field. 

Spain passing around for fun. Just a couple of instances of Costa Rica managing to do something with the ball but Spain snuff out the trouble quickly and pass out from the back to continue the usual run of play. Spain have had a mind-numbing 86 percent of possession thus far. 

Ferran Torres jogs up to the ball and rolls it past Navas after sending the Costa Rica captain the wrong way. 3-0 inside the first 30 minutes, as dominant as it gets from Spain. 

Duarte brings down Alba and the referee points to the spot. Spain running circles around Costa Rica. 

Alba crosses in from the left and Asensio smashes it in to double his team's lead. Navas could have done better there but it is always difficult to muster a save when comes to the end of a cross unchallenged in that fashion. 

Costa Rica managed to win a free kick but it came to nothing. They have had some of the ball since they conceded but nothing truly threatening from them. It's a bit of a walkover at the moment for Spain. 

Gavi scoops up a pass to Olmo inside the box. Olmo controlls it wonderfully on the turn before putting it past Navas. This has been coming, Costa Rica have been struggling to get out of their own final third, let alone their half. 

Spain with almost all of the possession in these early stages, as one would expect. Gavi has broken the record for youngest Spanish player to play in the World Cup, going past Cesc Fabregas. 

Costa Rica kick off the proceedings here. They are attacking left to right, wearing all whites. Spain are in their famous flaming reds. 

Busquets leads out Spain and PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas walks out in front for Costa Rica. The national anthems follow suit. Seconds away now.

Roderi and Laporte are the centre backs for Spain with Azpilicueta and Alba their full backs. Sergio Busquets has the arm band and Marco Asensio is playing as their false nine.  

Navas; Martinez, Fuller, Duarte, Calvo, Oviedo; Campbell, Borges, Tejeda, Bennette; Contreras.

Substitutes: Alvarado, Chacon, Hernandez, Lopez, Matarrita, Ruiz, Salas, Sequeira, Torres, Vargas, Venegas, Waston, Wilson, Zamora.

Simon; Azpilicueta, Rodri, Laporte, Alba; Busquets; Gavi, Pedri; Torres, Asensio, Olmo.

Substitutes: Balde, Carvajal, Fati, Eric Garcia, Guillamon, Koke, Llorente, Morata, Pino, Raya, Sanchez, Sarabia, Soler, Torres, Williams.

This is pretty much a group of death with Spain and Germany being the obvious favourites but Japan and Costa Rica are not exactly pushovers. More over, Japan have shown what they can do while Costa Rica have memories of 2014 to lean back on, when they went on and won a group ahead of Italy, Uruguay and England.