Spain begins FIFA WC campaign with a record 7-0 victory over Costa Rica

Doha: Spain kicked off their Qatar 2022 campaign with the nation's biggest-ever FIFA World Cup win, thrashing Costa Rica 7-0.

No fewer than six separate players found the net for La Roja, with Ferran Torres bagging a brace and Gavi becoming the third-youngest scorer in the tournament's history.Dani Olmo started the goal spree when he dinked the ball over Keylor Navas after 10 minutes, having shown wonderful close control to fashion the shooting position.

Marco Asensio doubled the lead soon after, spinning the ball into the far corner from Jordi Alba’s pinpoint cross.Torres joined the party with a penalty on the half-hour mark before adding a second early in the second half after capitalising on some confusion between Navas and Bryan Oviedo, reported fifa.com.

Gavi then made it five with a stunning strike, and if Costa Rica felt it couldn't get any worse at this stage, they were to be sorely disappointed.Stoppage-time efforts from Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata rubbed salt in Tico wounds and put a spectacular seal on a statement win for the Spanish.

Gavi had made history simply by taking to the field, becoming – at 18 years and 110 days – the youngest Spanish player ever to take part in the beautiful game's greatest competition.
But when he found the net with the pick of his team's seven goals – a volley executed with typically flawless technique – it left him behind only two men, Manuel Rosas (18 years, 93 days) and the great Pele (17 years, 239 days), on the World Cup's all-time list of youngest marksmen.

They have only six more resounding World Cup wins than Spain's demolition of Costa Rica. There have been three 8-0s, two 9-0s and the biggest victory of all: Hungary's 10-0 trouncing of El Salvador in 1982.(UNI)