La Masia product Gavi, has taken his impressive club form to his country, and started out fine in his first World Cup appearance.

The 18-year-old Barca youngster became the third youngest goalscorer in World Cup history, behind Pele and Manuel Rosas, during Spain’s 7-0 drubbing of Costa Rica.

Luis Enrique had been criticised for calling up a then 17-year-old Gavi up for national duty in October last year – just two months after his Barca debut.

Following the midfielder’s progress for club and country, and especially his fine performance against Costa Rica, Enrique now feels justified.

The Spain boss heaped massive praise on Gavi, and said in his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Germany: “The most surprising thing for everyone is that someone, at 18 years and 100 days old, has that amount of self-confidence.

“You have to look at the intelligence he has in his positioning, how he dominates the technical aspects of football, and his physical capacity despite being 18. We have to stay calm, he’s 18, but he can define an era.”