Spain’s teenaged sensation impresses in campaign-opening 7-0 rout of Costa Rica; coach Luis Enrique insists he’s a future star
Spain’s Gavi celebrates after scoring against Costa Rica on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images
The youngest man on the pitch for the Group E fixture between Spain and Costa Rica—Spanish teenager Gavi, 18—made a brilliant first impression with his skill and game sense on Wednesday night. The stylish midfielder, who won the Kopa Trophy at last month’s Ballon d’Or, which is given to the best young players under the age of 21, made history by becoming the youngest from his country, at 18 years and 110 days—to make an appearance at a World Cup.
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He added to the feat with a classy goal in the 54th minute, becoming only the third youngest player to score in World Cup history, behind Brazil’s Pele (17 years and 239 days, v Wales in 1958) and Mexico’s Manuel Rosas (18 years and 93 days, v Argentina in 1930). The promising statistics notwithstanding however, Gavi’s influential presence in the centre of the pitch is what stood out.
With a whopping 81 per cent possession and seven goals (Dani Olmo 11th minute, Marco Asensio 21st, Ferran Torres 31st and 54th, Gavi 74th, Carlos Soler 90th and Álvaro Morata 92nd) to say that Spain were dominant, would be an understatement, especially considering they executed a jaw-dropping 1000-plus passes. And Gavi was a crucial contributor to that figure with his incisive first-time relays. Gavi set the foundation to, what turned out to be a goal-fest, in the 11th minute when he essayed a skillful chip shot over the Costa Rican defence and into the path of Olmo, who steered the ball past experienced custodian Keylor Navas for the opener.
A busy man
Gavi remained a busy man throughout the encounter, smoothly steeping in and out of attacking moves and feeding off fellow midfielders Rodri and Sergio Busquets while also frequently providing to forwards Ferran Torres and Marco Asensio.
The way Gavi took ownership of the midfield reminded one of another Spanish midfield maestro, Xavi. Interestingly, their similar playing style is no coincidence. Xavi, the current coach of Barcelona, has helped Gavi nourish and flourish. A couple of months ago Xavi called Gavi the heart of Barcelona. “Given his intensity, fight, passing and high pressing, he has his heart in his legs,” Xavi had said.
On Wednesday night, this heart would have caused some serious heartburn to the few thousand Costa Rican fans at the Al Thumama Stadium when he capped a brilliant individual performance with the best goal of the night. In the 74th minute, an aerial ball from Alvaro Morata saw Gavi execute a firm right-foot volley into the bottom corner of the Costa Rican goal to confirm his position as a prodigious talent who will only explode further as this tournament progresses. It’s no wonder then that Spain coach Luis Enrique was lavish in his praise for the youngster.
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‘He is unique’
“Gavi is unique, very different because he’s 18 now, but he has the personality of an experienced player. It’s a pleasure to play with the boy, because he is a boy. He needs a bit of calm sometimes, but we are very happy to have him in the team. I think he’s going to be one of the stars of football,” said Enrique at the post-match press conference.
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