Goals: Spain—Alcacer 7’ - Fabregas 30’; Venegas 5’
Gol de Johan Venegas #CostaRica 1 #España 0 pic.twitter.com/HhQTnMuj6i Via @StevenO23
— Jorge Ramos & Banda (@ESPN_JorgeRamos) June 11, 2015
Recap: Ninety minutes of international football saw Spain defeat Costa Rica 2-1 on Thursday.
The action persisted from the onset. A delicious ball from Celso Borges allowed Joel Campbell to find Johan Venegas just outside the six-yard box. The 26-year-old left zero doubts with his finish. Spain’s quality, however, didn’t take long to respond. Played on by Costa Rica’s back line, Paco Alcacer went one-on-one with Keylor Navas and beat the Real Madrid goalkeeper to the far post. World-class build up allowed Cesc Fabregas to double the lead in the 30th minute.
Chances were few and far between for Los Ticos in the second half, but stellar saves from Keylor Navas kept the flattering 2-1 scoreline.
Key Moment: Costa Rica's best chance for an equalizer came in the 82nd minute. Unfortunately for La Sele, Bryan Ruiz's volley screamed above the bar.
Man of the Match: In addition to the match-winner, Fabregas proved to be effective in midfield throughout the contest.
Lesson Learned: Paulo Wanchope was correct in returning to the 5-3-2. The formation Jorge Luis Pinto used to carry Costa Rica to the quarterfinals of the World Cup reemerged in Leon, providing the visitors a better shape than in previous encounters. Since taking over for his Colombian counterpart, Wanchope opted for a 4-2-3-1 system that underutilized Joel Campbell’s talents and often left his center-back tandem in dangerous positions. Although the team conceded goals, the overall impression from the match was enough to consider this change to be a permanent one for the 2015 Gold Cup.
Up Next: Spain returns to Euro Cup qualifiers against Belarus on June 14, while Costa Rica prepares for an international friendly against Mexico on June 27.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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