At 0:00 Beijing time on November 24, the first round of Group E of the 2022 World Cup, Spain played Costa Rica.
Spain won the 2010 World Cup and is currently ranked seventh in the world. Although Costa Rica is ranked 31st in the world and is in the "death group" of this World Cup, they did so eight years ago.
"Matador" rookie picks the lion: only one person from the championship team remains, and 20 people are participating in the World Cup for the first time
With the retirement of the golden generation, only Sergio Busquets was left to win the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and 20 had never played in the World Cup.
Coach Luis Enrique has bet on youngsters such as 19-year-old Pedri, 20-year-old Fati and 18-year-old Garvey, Spain's youngest goalcorer. "I think it's very positive because young players bring energy to the team," coach Luis Enrique said on the 22nd. With an average age of 25.3 years, Spain is the third youngest team in this World Cup after the United States and Ghana.
Although this Spanish team, many positions have been replaced by newcomers, the strength of the central midfield has been significantly weakened, Morata and Saravia on the front line cannot be compared with Torres and Villa, and the midfield does not have such organizational cores as Xavi and Iniesta.
However, under the full cultivation of coach Luis Enrique, new stars such as Barca midfielder Pedri and striker Ferran Torres have gradually occupied the main position in the team. Among them, Pedri, who is regarded by the outside world as Xavi's successor, has become the core of the "Matador" midfield with his active running and skillful personal skills.
In this World Cup, with the help of veterans such as Sergio Busquets, these young people will gradually pick up the beam.
In FIFA's latest men's national team world rankings, Spain "Matador" is ranked seventh, the highest-ranked team in Group E.
With the traditional 433 formation and pass-control tactics, the implementation of oppressive attacks, and the use of dense and fast short pass penetration, the "Matador" reached the last four at the 2020 European Championship and finished second in the 2021-2022 UEFA Nations League.
(Group photo of Spanish starters in a friendly football match in Amman, Jordan, on November 17, Photo/Xinhua News Agency)
"Pirates of the Caribbean" Costa Rica wants to continue its glory: once again fall into the "group of death" and want to replicate the "dark horse miracle"
In terms of fame, Costa Rica is the least favored team in Group E. Pirates of the Caribbean, who has reached the World Cup finals six times, are currently ranked 31st in the world, with their best result being the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
At the 2014 World Cup, Costa Rica was grouped with three World Cup winners, England, Italy and Uruguay, also known as the "Group of Death". However, Costa Rica, considered a super foil, became the protagonist, finishing high in the group and reaching the quarter-finals historically, only to lose to the Netherlands on penalties and not reach the semi-finals.
Costa Rica has once again fallen into the "group of death" in this World Cup, and their goal is to replicate the miracle of 2014.
However, Costa Rica's squad has been weak in recent years, and the talent gap has been serious after the end of the golden generation, and the number one star in the team is still the 35-year-old Parisian goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who is low-worth and has few players who play in the major five leagues. Compared to Spain, the two teams are not in the same weight class at all. From a realistic point of view, Costa Rica may have a hard time beating Spain.
In addition, Costa Rica really remembers Chinese fans, and in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, the Chinese team only entered the World Cup finals, and the first opponent was Costa Rica.
(Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Photo/Beiqing.com)
According to statistics, Spain and Costa Rica have met three times in the past, with the two teams playing three friendly matches in November 2011 (Spain 2-2 Costa Rica), June 2015 (Spain 2-1 Costa Rica) and November 2017 (Spain 5-0 Costa Rica), with Spain unbeaten with 2 wins and 1 draw.
[Source: Jiupai News Comprehensive Overseas Network, China News Network, Minnan Net, Qilu Evening News, Beijing Evening News, Understanding Ball Emperor, Global Net]
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