Spain showed total dominance when they faced Costa Rica on Wednesday at the World Cup, with Barcelona youngster Gavi impressing.

The 18-year-old is the youngest player to play for Spain at the world cup, while he became the youngest scorer at the world cup since a 17-year-old Pele in 1958 with his first-half strike.

Gavi earned his place in Spain’s World Cup list, having played 34 games in La Liga last season, scoring twice and assisting 5.

However, he wasn’t the first to reach a milestone on the night, as Dani Olmo’s opener was Spain’s 1000th goal at the World Cup.

Marco Asensio’s goal and Ferran Torres’s penalty at the half-hour mark gave Spain a 3-0 lead going into halftime.

Ferran Torres completed his brace after the break to continue their dominance for Spain, while Gavi got his first World Cup goal in the 74th minute of the game.

Two late goals from Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata completed the 7-0 thrashing as Costa Rica failed to have a single shot on target.

The win undoubtedly took Spain to the top of the table while Japan, after their shock 2-1 comeback win against Germany, put them in second place.

Ilkay Gundogan had given Germany an early lead in the game from the penalty spot in the first half; however, a late rally by Japan saw them score two goals in the final 15 minutes to earn themselves a well-deserved to win victory.

Germany’s stay at the World Cup solely rests on the results they get on Sunday when they face fellow European Giants Spain. A defeat to the 2010 champions would effectively eliminate Germany from the World Cup at the group stage for the second consecutive edition.

Japan can secure qualification to the round of sixteen if they are able to beat Costa Rica on Sunday.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu