Costa Rica have nothing to fear in their 2022 World Cup opener against Spain according to striker Anthony Contreras.
Los Ticos have reached a third successive World Cup, after coming through a inter-confederation play off against New Zealand, with Luis Fernando Suarez’s drawn in Group E in Qatar.
The Central American side kick off their campaign against La Roja in Doha on November 23, before facing Japan and Germany in Al Rayyan and Al Khor respectively.
Despite being placed as a firm outsiders to reach the last 16, and ranked at 31 by FIFA, Contreras believes they have nothing to lose in the Middle East.
“Spain has lots of quality, but that doesn’t scare us, it motivates us”, as per quotes from Diario AS.
“We also have quality. We know we have to play very well, but I think we can play one on one against Spain.”
Contreras will not be familiar to fans of Spanish football, playing for Costa Rican side Herediano, with the majority of the squad domestic based, as former Real Madrid star Keylor Navas is one of the exceptions.
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