Olmo brings up Spain’s century of World Cup goals
The talented RB Leipzig player scored Spain’s 100th FIFA World Cup™ goal on Wednesday.
Dani Olmo scored Spain’s first goal of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
It was his fifth goal in 26 internationals
The thrashing was only Spain’s third win in their last 14 opening matches at the World Cup
Spain began their Qatar 2022™ campaign with a bang on Wednesday.
La Roja laid down the biggest of markers against Costa Rica to move to the top of Group E, level on points with Japan, victors over Germany earlier in the day.
The Spanish made a typically industrious start, determined to avoid an upset. They did not have long to wait, with Dani Olmo putting them ahead after 11 minutes. Marco Asensio made it 2-0 just ten minutes later, and Ferran Torres all but sealed the points from the penalty spot after half an hour. Ferran added a second just after the restart before giving way to Alvaro Morata. Goals from Gavi, Carlos Soler and sub Morata completed an emphatic win.
It was only the third time Spain had won their opening match at a World Cup in the last 14 attempts. Notoriously slow starters, their two previous victories in opening games since Brazil 1950™ were a 3-1 defeat of Slovenia at Korea/Japan 2002™ and a 4-0 romp against Ukraine at Germany 2006™. In their remaining 11 tournament openers, the men in red drew four and lost seven.
The most significant of Luis Enrique’s side’s seven goals was the first. It came at the end of a well-worked move and it gave Olmo the honour of bringing up a century of Spain goals at the World Cup.
It was the Terrassa-born player’s fifth for his country. His first came almost three years ago to the day, on 15 November 2019, when the RB Leipzig player contributed to another seven-goal win, against Malta in a UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier.
His second for the South Africa 2010 champions came in a win against Georgia on 28 March 2021, with a third following days later against Kosovo. He had to wait nearly a year for the fourth, scored in a friendly against Albania on 26 March 2022. Just as Spain did against Costa Rica, they won all four of those matches.
Scored by six different players posting their first goals in the biggest tournament of them all, Spain’s seven goals against Costa Rica took their overall World Cup tally to 106.
Their leading all-time scorer in the competition is David Villa. The Asturian found the back of the net at three different tournaments, totalling nine goals in all in 12 matches. Three of them came at Germany 2006, five at South Africa 2010™, and one at Brazil 2014™.
Behind Villa are four players on five goals: Emilio Butragueno (five at Mexico 1986™), Fernando Morientes (two at France 1998™ and three at Japan/Korea 2002), and Raul and Fernando Hierro, who amassed their hauls at three and four World Cups respectively.
Estanislao Basora, Michel, Fernando Torres and Zarra all scored four World Cup goals apiece, and Jose Luis Caminero, Diego Costa and Julio Salinas three each. The current Spanish coach is one of several Spain players on two World Cup goals, along with Andres Iniesta, the man who struck the goal that gave La Roja the only star on their shirt.
FIFA World Cup scores and fixtures FIFA World Cup highlights