Both Spain and Costa Rica will be hoping to bounce back from defeats when the pair meet in an international friendly at the Bernabeu on Thursday.

Spain were beaten 2-0 by Netherlands in their last fixture towards the end of March, while Costa Rica went down 1-0 to South American nation Colombia in a friendly on Saturday.

Spain

Spain arrived at the 2014 World Cup as the reigning champions and with a squad that was tipped to go close once again. Vicente del Bosque's side failed to make it out of the group stages, however, after losing two of their three games – including a 5-1 defeat against Netherlands.

Since last summer, their form overall has been a little hit-and-miss. They were beaten 1-0 by France in their first friendly after the World Cup, and were also beaten 2-1 in Slovakia in what was just their second qualification match for Euro 2016.

That said, Del Bosque's side did respond with three straight wins in Group C to leave them second in the table on 12 points – three points behind the group leaders Slovakia. In truth, it would be one of the biggest shocks in history if Spain did not qualify for next summer's competition in France and there is no question that they have to quality to make up for the disappointment in Brazil.

Spain's recent record in friendlies, however, is surprisingly poor. As mentioned, they lost against France last September, and have also been beaten by Germany and Netherlands in their last two friendlies – failing to score in the process. In fact, La Roja have only won four of their last nine non-competitive international fixtures.

While the result against Costa Rica will undoubtedly be important, Spain do have more pressing matters ahead. Next Sunday, the European champions will travel to Belarus in a Euro 2016 qualifier and will then not be back in action until September, when they host the group leaders Slovakia.

Del Bosque promised to freshen an ageing squad following last summer's World Cup, and while that has happened, there is still plenty of experience in their ranks. It has been a disappointing 12 months or so, but a nation with Spain's undoubted quality cannot be written off going forward.

Recent form: LWWLWL

Costa Rica

Spain might not remember the 2014 World Cup too fondly, but it is the total opposite for Costa Rica, who incredibly reached the quarter-finals, before losing to Netherlands on penalties. The minnows were seen as the huge underdogs to advance from a group that included three former World Cup winners – Italy, England and Uruguay – but they ended up topping the section.

Greece were waiting in the last-16 stage of the tournament and Costa Rica's journey continued when they beat the Euro 2004 winners 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw. Their journey came to an end against Netherlands, but it was their best-ever finish at a World Cup, while they rose 12 places in the FIFA rankings to 16th place following their exploits.

Jorge Luis Pinto left as head coach following the World Cup, but more success was to follow under interim boss Paulo Wanchope, who is the second highest-scoring player in Costa Rican history. In September 2014, Wanchope led his country to the Copa Centroamericana, before officially taking control of the national team at the end of January 2015. Since its inception in 1991, Costa Rica have won the Copa Centroamericana nine times out of 13.

Each of Costa Rica's last six fixtures have been friendlies, and they have brought mixed results. Wanchope's side beat Oman 4-3 back in October 2014, before beating Korea Republic and Uruguay within the space of one month. They then drew 0-0 with Paraguay, however, before losing 2-1 away to Panama at the start of April.

Costa Rica's most recent match took place last Saturday, when they were beaten 1-0 by Colombia courtesy of a goal from Radamel Falcao. After this match, Costa Rica have one more friendly to come against Mexico before the serious business of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which gets underway in July.

Costa Rica have been drawn into Group B alongside Canada, El Salvador and Jamaica, and will be keen to continue their impressive record in the competition. They reached the quarter-finals in both 2005 and 2007, before reaching the semis in 2009. Each of their last two appearances have brought quarter-final spots, but that said, they have not won the competition since 1989.

Recent form: WWWDLL

Team News

Barcelona's midfielder Andres Iniesta celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semifinal first leg football match against Villarreal on February 11, 2015

Spain will definitely be without Andres Iniesta for the match after the Barcelona midfielder aggravated a calf injury in the Champions League final at the weekend.

The rest of Barca's treble winners are available, however, and it is understood that Del Bosque will select the likes of Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

There is also a decision to be made between the sticks, with Manchester United stopper David de Gea hoping to start ahead of Real Madrid's Iker Casillas. Further forward, Koke and Isco should both start in the middle of the park.

There are two new faces in the latest Spain squad, with Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico and new Barcelona attacker Aleix Vidal both hoping to make their international debuts.

As for Costa Rica, Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas is expected to return between the sticks after Esteban Alvarado was given the chance to impress against Colombia.

Michael Umana, who has 89 caps to his name, should also start, while Celso Borges will be looking to win his 77th cap in the middle of the park and indeed add to his 19 international goals.

Arsenal forward Joel Campbell should also start in a wide role, with Jonathan McDonald and Jonathan Moya, who are both yet to score for their country, making up the front three.

Spain possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Juanfran, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Busquets, Koke, Isco; Pedro, Morata, Silva

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:
Navas; Gamboa, Umana, Brown, Diaz; Borges, Ruiz, Cubero; Campbell, Moya, McDonald

Head To Head

These two nations have only ever previously met on one occasion, and that particular international friendly produced a 2-2 draw in San Jose back in November 2011.

Goals from Randall Brenes and Joel Campbell saw Costa Rica lead the La Roja 2-0 entering the final 10 minutes, but late goals from David Silva and David Villa denied Costa Rica a famous win.

We say: Spain 2-0 Costa Rica

There is no question that Costa Rica's exploits at the 2014 World Cup has made them more respected on the world stage, but Spain almost have a point to prove at the moment and should ultimately prove too strong on their own patch.

It might be a tight game, especially in the first period, but we expect La Roja to show their quality as the match develops and record a 2-0 victory in the process.