After watching Saudi Arabia shock Argentina on Tuesday and Japan stun Germany earlier Wednesday, Spain lived up to its billing as a World Cup contender with a 7-0 rout of Costa Rica at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
Ferran Torres scored twice and Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Álvaro Morata also found the net for La Roja, which scored three times in the first 31 minutes and cruised to victory. Crisply knocking the ball around with ease, Spain finished the match with a whopping 82 percent of the possession and held a lethargic Costa Rica side without a shot.
Olmo broke through with an 11th-minute strike. Asensio doubled the lead 10 minutes later, and Torres converted a penalty in the 31st. The floodgates opened as Costa Rica faded after halftime, with Torres scoring another in the 54th, Gavi netting in the 74th, and substitutes Soler and Morata running up the score in the game’s dying moments.
The result leaves Spain atop Group E with three points and a plus-seven goal differential that’ll be difficult to surpass. Japan sits second after its 2-1 win over Germany, which sits in third ahead of last-place Costa Rica. Spain faces Germany and Japan meets Costa Rica on Sunday.
Spain leads 7-0 in stoppage time after two more late goals
Make it 7-0 Spain, which surpassed the national record six goals it scored against Bulgaria in a rout at the 1998 World Cup.
After Carlos Soler put a shot into the bottom right corner of the net in the 90th minute, Álvaro Morata scored on a pass from Dani Olmo in the 92nd.
La Roja’s thumping of Costa Rica is almost complete. For Los Ticos, the eight minutes of stoppage time can’t expire soon enough.
Source: TheWashingtonPost
