Spain will open their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica at 17:00 CEST, knowing that anything other than a victory will be a significant disappointment, not to mention a setback in the group.
Speculation over how Spain might line-up has been relatively quiet as the nation tunes into Luis Enrique’s Twitch streams every night. However the headstrong Asturian is likely to rely heavily on the Barcelona contingent in this match, with Sport predicting that no fewer than seven Barcelona players will begin against Costa Rica.
Eric Garcia will get the nod in central defence, while Alvaro Morata, so often described as Spain’s number nine under Luis Enrique, will be dropped in favour of Marco Asensio.
Marca believe that Morata will keep his place, with the shock selection coming at the back. Rodrigo Hernandez of Manchester City has operated in central defence in previous games, but few saw him becoming the starting central defender.
They see no place for Ansu Fati, with Marco Asensio instead playing from the right, which would be a first in recent Spain games. Both papers believe the midfield will consist of Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Gavi.
Spain have struggled most under Luis Enrique against teams willing to sit deep and counter on them, which Los Ticos will likely attempt to do. It is no doubt a potential hiccup that La Roja will be hoping to score early in to settle into a rhythm.
