Spain vs Costa Rica – 23/11/2022
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The 2010 world champions are set to kick off their World Cup campaign with a meeting against Costa Rica in Group E as arguably the World Cup’s most intriguing group also sees a matchup between Japan and Germany take place too.
There are many questions heading the way of the Spain team at this World Cup. The one-time winners infamously left out all Real Madrid players at last summer’s Euro 2020 finals, and although names like Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal have been included, elite names like Sergio Ramos, David De Gea, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Sergi Roberto, Rodrigo and Mikel Oyarzabal have all not made it, while even Gerard Moreno has not made the squad.
? ÁRBITROS | El colegiado emiratí Mohammed Abdullah Hassan dirigirá el @SEFutbol ? Costa Rica.
➡️ El árbitro, de 43 años, ya fue el encargado de pitar el partido de la repesca mundialista entre los ticos y Nueva Zelanda.
ℹ️ https://t.co/Tg3hGcwcWP#VamosEspaña | #Catar2022 pic.twitter.com/kazZ6rtQq7
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) November 21, 2022
This is set to throw a lot of goalscoring attention on the shoulders of Alvaro Morata once more and Ferran Torres, although both have once again struggled for goalscoring form at club level.
On the other hand, Spain have been on the rise under Luis Enrique, despite the controversy surrounding the squad these days. They only lost in the Euros to a penalty shootout to eventual winners Italy in the semi-finals last summer.
Combine this with a fantastic run throughout 2022 and it does mean Spain have only lost one game in the past year.
This defeat came at the hands of Switzerland in the Nations League, although they managed to beat them back in Geneva, while also beating Portugal and Czech Republic in their Nations League run too.
Enrique’s men played against Jordan in a warmup game just a few days ago, beating them 3-1 thanks to goals from Gavi, Ansu Fati and Nico Williams.
Costa Rica managed to defeat Nigeria in their recent warmup game, beating the African side 2-0 with goals from Oscar Duarte and Kendall Watson.
They have now won two in a row after beating Uzbekistan back in September, and combine this with a 2-2 draw against South Korea, their World Cup qualifiers final victory over New Zealand and a 2-0 victory over Martinique in the Nations League, it does mean a five-game unbeaten run for Costa Rica.
Spain could end up struggling in this game here, and Forebet predicts a draw and over 2.5 goals as the Spanish look to get out of the groups and stamp their marker down on what has been a struggle for them on the world stage since winning the World Cup in 2010.
