The 2014 FIFA World Cup is upon us. The biggest soccer tournament in the world is set to kickoff on June 12, between Brazil and Croatia. The favorites and most popular choices to contend for the trophy will be Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain.

However, Spain (the defending champions) recently received some bad news. Their striker Diego Costa tore a hamstring and it is being ruled as a grade one tear.

Spain plays their first game against the Netherlands on June 13, but this is going to be tough for Spanish Coach Vincente del Bosque. He has a lot of decisions to make and cuts are being made to the roster as 30 players remain. The final 23-man roster is due for every participating nation on June 3. Currently, Spain's medical team expects Costa to miss 15 days, but still remains very hopeful he will play in the World Cup.

Costa was recently at the center of a difficult decision. The striker grew up in Brazil but also has Spanish citizenship. Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he would have chosen Costa for his Brazilian squad. They talked about it on separate occasions, but Scolari couldn't convince Costa to join the team.

Of course, Costa has already been ruled out of the international friendlies against team Bolivia and it is very unlikely he will play against El Salvador. Spain will play Bolivia on May 30 and El Salvador on June 7. These games won't count for the standings or qualifications; they are exhibition games. Or another way to look at them -- they are preseason games to evaluate the roster before the World Cup begins. Spain Head Coach Vincent del Bosque will be looking at every player and deciding what players stay and what players go home.

Costa has proven to be a reliable goal scorer and if he isn't able to go for the World Cup, the odds of winning increase for other countries. Countries such as Italy, France, Belgium, and Columbia which are in the middle of the pack, now have a greater chance of advancing. As we all know, the South American and European continents have dominated FIFA, winning every World Cup. No European country has ever been able to win the World Cup on South American soil before.

Hopefully, Costa can make a full recovery and play in in his very first FIFA World Cup. Fortunately, he is only 25 years old, so he looks to have a long bright future ahead of him.

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