After pairing vs Germany’s ‘Coconut’ Y As disgusting as JapanSpain’s third contender will come off an international playoff between New Zealand and Costa Rica, two teams that are affordable for the Reds.
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The most famous of the Costa Rican team is undoubtedly its goalkeeper, ex-Madrid player Keylor Navas, who at 35 is still at the foot of the ‘Tigos’ valley and is also the captain. If it reaches Qatar, it will be the Central American team’s sixth World Cup appearance, a third in a row after reaching the round of 16 in 2014 and crashing out in the early stages in 2018.
Apart from Navas, the team led by Luis Fernando Suarez has irreplaceables like Brian Ruiz, Celso Borges or Johan Venegas.
There have been only three matches between Spain and Costa Rica, all of them friendly and with two wins and a draw for the Red team. They last crossed paths in Malaga in 2017, which ended in a 5-0 win for the Spanish side.
New Zealand, for its third participation
The Oceania champions will be seeking their third appearance at the World Cup finals. They qualified for Spain 1982 and South Africa 2010, although on both occasions they failed to get past the group stage. He never won the World Cup either.
There is only one precedent between Spain and New Zealand. It was in the 2009 Confederations Cup, the result was a clear 5-0 in favor of La Roja.
The key note for the ‘Kiwis’ is striker Chris Wood, who Newcastle paid Burnley €30m in last winter’s transfer window.
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