Spain 7-0 Costa Rica: Luis Enrique's men take control of Group E, with Ferran Torres scoring twice and one each for Olmo, Asensio, Gavi, Soler and Morata
Spain is having an exhibition, which is also a display of their unsavory qualities.
It may be too soon to call this 7-0 win the champions win but fair to say it was the team's most complete and convincing showing at the 2022 World Cup so far. Spain have announced themselves, in similar fashion to the 4-1 defeat to Russia that sparked their Euro 2008 win.
The only pity is that so few people here saw it, Spain's grand display also highlighted one of the less serious but still significant problems of this World Cup. However, there was never any hint that Luis Enrique's team would suffer from any of football's growing problems at this World Cup.
Far from coming off as immature – as group rivals Germany, Argentina and other big teams seem – Spain have a unified team feel.
And, yes, that's just Costa Rica. But Pedri is only 19 years old. Gavi is only 18 years old.
But here they combined and completely controlled the World Cup opener in a spirited and easy way.
That's also why it has significance beyond the opposition.
Spain have a history of starting this tournament in anxious fashion, any low blocks or early struggles to score highly stressful in ways that needlessly diminish their quality. You only have to look at Euro 2020, which was a campaign that required a few nights of soul longing for them to thrive. They ended great, the way they did here, but there was something missing.
This was a display in which they filled so many gaps, brought the team up a level, and left Costa Rica struggling to cover space. That's the brilliance of Spain's performances, and why they appear to have a better idea of football than anyone so far, if not necessarily the best squad.
There was bite and intensity to their performance that Luis Enrique will be delighted with in this win. This is the kind of drive he is looking to introduce into Spain's ball possession game.
No passive bait here. Everything is on purpose all the time, from the first to the last minute.
The carousel becomes a blender. It was the initial release, and increment.
Costa Rica, it must be admitted, is so soft that it cuts easily. Spain, however, went beyond simply defeating what was in front of them.
They put on a show. They played with full confidence, as seen in the finishes from Marco Asensio (second), Gavi (fifth) and Carlos Soler (sixth). All really pushed in, no doubts or doubts allowed.
It's still the best first goal, and perhaps the best illustration of this Spain.
After an exchange of quick passes that just sliced the gap on Costa Rica, Gavi added whimsy to their complex with a deft little move. Dani Olmo then did it with a clever touch to finish well. Spain left, and didn't look back.
Bench Costa Rica must have struggled to watch. They still see an extraordinary combination of collective qualities and individual inspiration.
Even Ferran Torres' penalty, and the first goal, came from too many moves for Costa Rica.
There's so much going on here that it's hard to pick the best, but it's hard to look beyond Gavi and Pedri.
As for whether Spain are now favourites, it is too early to say whether they are on par with Andres Iniesta and Xavi in 2008, but they have grown together in the same way. Everything came from them, their quality lifted them up, and formed a very sophisticated core with Sergio Busquets and improvised centre-back Rodri.
If that's what everyone is seeing at this World Cup, when they talk about the rising stars, Luis Enrique will be just as pleased with the contribution of some of the supporting cast. This article was written by EDUKASI CAMPUS.