With Spain set to spend most of the game in their opponents’ half, the Spanish should be able to get off a lot of shots too. Luis Enrique often throws up personnel surprises and there is an injury doubt too, over Álvaro Morata, but Ferran Torres is as much of a sure starter as you can get with this coach, as he played the most minutes of all outfielders in qualifying.

Ferran Torres made the most of those minutes by getting off 3.49 shots per 90 minutes. That was the highest figure for all Spain players who completed at least 90 minutes this calendar year.

The big criticism with Ferran Torres is that he’s not the most accurate, but 77% of his shots have been on target for his country over the last year, compared to 42% for his club. With strong backing from Luis Enrique and playing in a more comfortable wide role, he can really thrive and use that confidence to challenge Keylor Navas.

Gavi is the combative teenager who has made his name one of the first on Luis Enrique’s teamsheets for every fixture, having played a part in every game since his first call-up in October 2021. Against Jordan in Spain’s warm-up friendly, he secured his second goal in Spain colours and will be looking to add to that.

He is also one of the leading figures for fouls among the Spain team. With 2.56 fouls per 90 in his international career, a higher figure than any other player over the past 12 months. Given referee Mohammed Abdulla Mohammed has a career average of 3.11 cards per 90, but that rises to 4 per 90 when refereeing in international competitions in what will be only his second World Cup match.

That means that we can expect to see Gavi in the thick of the action either way, but is good odds to be involved either with a card or with a goal to maintain his run of scoring in a game which Spain should dominate and look to give Gavi attacking licence just as they did against Jordan.

If Costa Rica manage to get anything from this group, it’ll be a miracle. They’re the massive underdog in Group E and are predicted to finish bottom. Any positive result will come from disrupting their opponents’ play as much as possible.

They’re up against a Spain side who will want to maintain a rhythm to their game. Spain also draw an average of 1.88 cards per game. Costa Rica will surely look to be aggressive, break up play, and even waste time. There should be plenty of opportunities for Costa Rica yellows with Spain dominating most of the ball.