Spain started their first ever World Cup game with a very dominant and impressive display but with failure to covert the chances they created, a 1-1 draw was all they could muster.
18 attempts on goal were seen from the strong Spanish side but they could only put one past Costa Rica through a 13th minute Vicky Losada goal.
It was less than 60 seconds later when Costa Rica equalised through a Rodriguez Cedeno tap in.
First Half:
It was an explosive start with vigour from both sides, although nerves hampered the quality in the opening stages.
It was World Cup debutants Spain who retained the majority of the possession, threatening the Costa Rica defence from the off.
Their early dominance was rewarded on the 13th minute when Losada cut inside her defender with ease before striking home.
But Spain couldn’t hold on to their lead, seconds later Costa Rica equalised through Cedeno who tapped in from close range on the 14th minute.
Visibly boosted by going a goal down, Costa Rica seemed to come to life and immediately took advantage of Spain’s lack of concentration. They created a quick counter attack from the kick off and in turn a well-deserved equaliser.
The chaos of the opening minutes wore down when both sides began to dictate the tempo and with that came the quality.
Spain continued their dominance, forcing a string of corners and were unlucky not to take back the lead. Once again proving dangerous from set pieces, Diana Saenz was forced to clear off the line.
It was almost Costa Rica who took an advantage with 27 minutes on the clock though, when Maria Barrantes broke free from her marker, but the striker placed her shot just wide of the crossbar.
Minutes later, another chance was presented for Costa Rica when Ajnhoa Tirapu misjudged a long free kick, but the Spaniard recovered keeping the game at a tie.
Second Half:
Spain started the second half brightly, almost taking yet another early lead when Sonia Bermudez slotted the ball across the box to Natalia Pablos. The Arsenal striker just got her foot stuck under the ball before she could make clean contact giving Dinnia Diaz the chance to clean up.
Yet more hard work from Spain provided Jennifer Hermoso with a perfect opportunity to convert their dominance. She found herself open in the Costa Rica box but her left footed strike was just wide of the post.
As the second period wore on, Spain remained dominant and Costa Rica struggled to progress from their own half.
In an intense spell, Costa Rica endured a heavy load of pressure and were lucky to be still in the game. Bermudez came the closest to scoring after she skipped round three defenders before shooting; her effort only hampered by a Wendy Acosta deflection.
Bermudez again came inches from giving Spain the lead when Veronica Boquete found her in the box after an excellent run from the half way line, outmuscling the Costa Rica defence.
Chance after chance presented itself to Spain, but with failure to covert them, the game remained at a tie. Costa Rica battled very hard to stay in the game and despite a lone chance were forced to spend the majority of the half defending Spain’s waves of attacks.
With four minutes to go, Pablos collected a clever ball, cut inside her defender and shot, but with her effort clearing the post by the matter of inches the Spanish frustration increased.
Spain will be disappointed to have drawn and will view this as two points dropped. With 18 attmepts compared to three from Costa Rica, the final conviction was all that was missing from a very impressive Spainish side.