Just like we saw with England and their rout of Iran it’s not going to be odd to see people jumping to put Spain as a candidate to win it all after their impressive win against Costa Rica. There’s an argument to be made that with Spain’s display on the field there were literally no negatives. That wasn’t the case for England who got caught napping in the back twice in their rout of Iran. Spain truly dominated this game from start to finish. They could’ve scored ten goals if they would’ve wanted to.
Why are we saying then that we have to pump the brakes on Spain? Well, because this was basically the same as winning a tune up game against a lower tier team before the World Cup. It could be said that Spain’s World Cup campaign hasn’t truly started. We knew coming into the tournament that Costa Rica was going to be one of the weakest teams.
There Was Nothing That Costa Rica Could Realistically Do
Costa Rica doesn’t have the players or the peace to be able to keep up with Spain. That was evident today on the field. It was hard to watch someone like Celso Borges out there today. Celso was a very decent player putting in good seasons in LaLiga during his prime. At this point in time he’s way past his prime. That was evident today. He may have been the only player that was able to hold the ball for Costa Rica in certain parts of the game, but if he was able to take one ball away from a Spanish player today it would seem like too much.
Perhaps Costa Rica could’ve used a much faster and sturdier man in that midfield. Just leave Campbell upfront alone. That would’ve been perhaps a better way to compete. The left and right backs for Costa Rica were outmatched all game though as well. They just didn’t seem like they had a chance at any point.
Can Spain Replicate Their Stellar Performance Against Other Teams?
A 7-0 performance is certainly out of the question, but a master class in possession is possible. However, Germany for example will not be as outclassed in the midfield as Costa Rica was. They’re going to be more physical, and they’ll have more of a chance to steal the ball and do some damage on the counter. What Spain probably wants to replicate is the number of times that they put themselves in front of goal!
The lack of goal scoring chances despite dominating possession is an issue that Guardiola teams have contended with for years. Although Luis Enrique is not quite Guardiola he may end up hitting the same wall. When it comes to possession they could very well replicate a similar performance. The real challenge is going to be putting their offensive players in true scoring positions. That’s what is going to win them or lose them games moving forward. Since they played a bunch of players that should’ve retired by now we don’t know what their true potential is!
The Group Got Real Interesting
With the loss by Germany that game between them and Spain is no longer just a game to see who is going to lead the group into the second round. Now it’s a must win game for Germany. Spain with their win and goal differential bought some cover so that if things go bad against Germany they can still go back and face Japan for all the marbles. For those people who root for controversy a Germany win would be the best thing to see happen in the second matchday.
