Costa Rica will want to draw inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s unexpected victory when they face Spain on Wednesday afternoon in Group E.
Los Ticos defeated Nigeria 2-0 in their most recent friendly on November 11. They have only lost one of their past 13 matches in all competitions, so optimism in the camp should be high ahead of this encounter.
Costa Rica was the last team to qualify for the World Cup, defeating New Zealand 1-0 in the intercontinental playoffs in June. Head Coach Luis Fernando Suarez received a new contract after securing qualification.
Keylor Navas is a certainty in goal, while Francisco Calvo will be joined in the middle of the defence by Oscar Duarte, with Carlos Martinez and Bryan Oviedo in the full-back positions.
Celso Borges, who has 155 caps for Brazil, is expected to play off the right flank, with Anthony Contreras prepared to lead the line.
Joel Campbell, a former Arsenal forward, will also play in the final third for La Sele.
Spain has failed to impress at the World Cup after winning it in 2010. 2014 and 2018 have seen embarrassing exits, but Luis Enrique’s men comfortably qualified for the World Cup finals by finishing first in their group, earning 19 points from eight matches with just one defeat.
Enrique has big decisions to make in his forward line, and Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres could eventually get the nod alongside Alvaro Morata, the squad’s leading goalscorer with 27.
