World Cup Now: How Spain pulled off a historic win over Costa Rica

Updated Nov 23, 2022 5:23 pm EST

Spain set a new team record for goals in a World Cup game in its 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica at Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday. FOX Sports soccer analysts Warren Barton, Jimmy Conrad and Sacha Kljestan discussed how they did it on "World Cup Now."

1. Barton: Spain doesn't need time

I've tipped Spain to go far in this competition and maybe even sneak in to try and win it, but I didn't realize they were this good. We can go back a little bit and point to the competition and who they're against, but you can only play who's in front of you. The overall game plan they have, the confidence they have on the ball, the flair that they have, and that supreme confidence to play at that level and that particular style where everything has to be so precise, I thought they were a joy to watch.

2. Conrad: Strikers weren't necessary for Spain

I didn't know they were going to come in and score seven goals. And they didn't start an out-and-out striker in this game, and I thought, "Man, where are the goals going to come from?" Maybe they wasted all of their goals against Costa Rica and can't score the rest of the tournament, but I don't think that's going to happen given the confidence we've seen and the amount of different ways they scored their goals.

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Spain and Costa Rica faced off for the first match of Group E.

3. Kljestan: This was vintage Spain

It reminded me of the old days, when it was death by a thousand passes, even though some of these young guys can't even drink the vintage wine in Spain. It was a really good performance. They brought back the old days for me. This was really fun to watch: the ball possession, the position, opening up the field, winning the ball back fast. Everything was vintage Spain.

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