Spain take on Costa Rica in battle of the generations
23 November 2022
Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon (centre) jokes with Dani Olmo (right) during a training session at Qatar University, in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. Spain will play its first match in Group E in the World Cup against Costa Rica today. Agency photo
Agency :
The young Spain players at the heart of coach Luis Enrique's new-look side make their global debut today when they face the experienced veterans of Costa Rica in their Qatar World Cup opening match.
With captain Sergio Busquets the lone survivor of the Spain team that won the 2010 tournament in South Africa under then coach Vicente del Bosque, Luis Enrique has blooded a new generation of players in preparation for Qatar.
Three years into the restructuring of the national side after dismal showings in Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, there are signs that the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star is building something that will be a force for years to come.
Barcelona midfielders Pedri, 19, Gavi, 18, plus their Catalan club teammate Ferran Torres, 22, are three of the young faces in the fresh-faced Spain side.
Luis Enrique - who led the Reds to the semi-finals of the Euros last year where they were eliminated by Italy on penalties - has picked 14 players aged 25 or under, and the average age of the squad is the third youngest among the 32 teams in Qatar.
"We are a team with a lot ahead of us, we are very young," Torres told reporters on Sunday.
