And there was still time for Alvaro Morata to add another two minutes later. Down on the bench, Luis Enrique was laughing, his side having certainly presented their bid for the competition. And not just because those weren’t the only numbers and it felt that way. Spain played over a thousand passes here, and if the old question was ‘yes, but how many of them mattered?’ the new answer looks like it might as well be: all of them. It’s hard to remember a show as complete as this one. Although, from a Costa Rican perspective, it may be just as difficult to remember as devastating. An aging side was torn apart by the kids, with a little help from a veteran or two. For the Central Americans, it started badly and just never got better. By the end, Spain cut them off. From the beginning, they might have suspected the same. Quick guide
Qatar: beyond football
projection This is a World Cup like no other. For the past 12 years the Guardian has been covering the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is brought together on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond Football page for those who want to delve into issues beyond the pitch. The Guardian’s reporting goes well beyond what happens on the pitch. Support our investigative journalism today. Thanks for your response. It took 56 seconds for Costa Rica to touch the ball for the first time and the same again to do it again. Which wouldn’t have been a problem except it turned out to be permanent. It might even have been worse for Luis Suarez’s side. He had predicted that Spain would have more possession, he had accepted that too, but not as much. And certainly not in these areas of the stadium. It may have looked easy for Luis Enrique’s side, but they never relaxed, the ball moved sharply and with intent. With finished product as well. A lovely curling pass from Pedri after just four minutes found Dani Olmo at the far post and although he steered his volley fractionally wide, Spain were soon back again. And again and again. And, just when Costa Rica thought it could breathe a little, again. This was merciless, merciless. Four more minutes and Costa Rica were open, Jordi Alba’s ball going a fraction past Marco Asensio’s far post. Another three minutes, almost all of which were spent with the ball at Spain’s feet, and the first goal arrived. Gavi’s silly little pass on the edge of the area took a deflection and Danny Olmo checked and turned one, taking the ball with him. A back spin, a great touch and he was left in front of Navas, who beat him comfortably. At that point, FIFA’s stats, which now allow for those moments when neither team has the ball, said Spain had 79% of possession – 10% of the game was contested – but these were encounters that were always won by Spain, a tension at its best. Gavi, as usual, led the press. Only 18, he and Pedri, who is 19 and the smooth glider of the two teenagers, dominated it. The last two Golden Boy winners were, well, gold. But then they all dominated it, a collective effort that was extremely convincing, with the most remarkable thing about these statistics being that they didn’t change. The ball just bounced off the boot of Sergio Busquets, exactly where he always wanted it, it doesn’t have to stay there any longer. The big posts, occupied by Olmo and Torres, were too wide, the pitch too big for Costa Rica to ever get there on time. Asensio was the false nine, mobile and always available. And maybe you could call Rodri a false four. The Manchester City midfielder was working as a central defender, but that was partly because they knew they would see a lot of possession – “the centre-backs will touch the ball more than 100 times,” said Luis Enrique’s assistant – and in positions that would normally he belonged to the pivot, the whole team so high up the pitch, that Rodri’s role often meant coming out to support play in areas closer to the other area than his own. He had 91 of those 100 touches in the half alone. Gavi Spain meanwhile had three goals. Another long period of possession ended with Alba flying left again, legs spinning. Busquets found him, found Asensio and Asensio turned the shot, first time to make it 2-0 after just 20 minutes. Navas may have done better, but then he wasn’t the only one. This was so one-sided it was absurd. All in white, like ghosts, the Costa Rican players were on the pitch, but not really in the match. As always, it was difficult to judge how much of these were their limitations, how much Spain’s quality. Not that there could be any doubt that the choice was a good one. Very very good. In the stands, above the disappointingly large number of empty seats, match reports were being written without mentioning any of the Costa Rican players. It was really hard to remember anything either of them had done, nothing really to say. they were only there as victims. Or, it turned out, or perpetrators. Like the time Carlos Martínez – there is one – was caught by surprise by Alba, passing him on one side and then again on the other. Or when, in the very next minute, Celso Borges – there’s another one – cut down Alba in the penalty area. Subscribe to Football Daily Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Even the penalty shot spoke of superiority, ease, absolute control of everything, especially time. Torres ran, slowed, stopped and turned the ball into the net to make it 3-0 after half an hour. At half-time, Spain had over 500 passes and 85% of possession in the old measure. The surprise was that Costa Rica could claim 15%. Those numbers were rising fast, passes headed for a thousand, goals soon at four. Marco Asensio (third left) celebrates with his teammates after scoring Spain’s second goal against Costa Rica. Photo: Xinhua/Shutterstock This time there might have been an answer to that inevitable question. this time, Costa Rica could be directly blamed. Spain went right, Gavi turned the ball into the box, and there was Torres. In front of him, Francisco Calvo fell to his knee for some reason, tried to get up again, and just saw Torres walking away from him. Oviedo couldn’t do anything either and the mess was now unfixed, Torres put it back on Navas. Spain make changes, Busquets and Alba come off, probably to protect themselves, Torres leaves with applause for his two goals. Nico Williams then replaced Asensio. Not much changed, certainly not the pattern, Morata and quickly into the side netting, the difference and the generation gap expressed when Gavi flew over the 19 years his senior Brian Ruiz. He had better come. Williams ran up the middle, a stunning 40, 50 yard run across Costa Rica for Morata to slide inside. Navas got to him on the edge of the six-yard box, but Morata turned back and got to the edge of the area where Gavi was steamrolling and hit a superb volley with the outside of his boot off the post. Spain had five, and they still weren’t done.
