Costa in position to leave his mark at World Cup

SOCHI, Russia (AP):

Even with a pair of goals himself, Diego Costa joined the chorus praising his higher-profile opponent's hat-trick in Spain's 3-3 draw with Portugal.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is Cristiano Ronaldo," Costa said. "I wish I could be like him."

But make no mistake about it: Costa knows he has the potential be right up there with Ronaldo fighting to be one of the stars of this World Cup in Russia.

Costa sent a strong message by scoring the first two goals for Spain against Portugal on Friday in Sochi, including with one of his trademark grinding runs past opponents. It was the type of performance he needed to boost his confidence after arriving for the World Cup doubted by fans and part of the media.

"I needed a good match like this," Costa said. "Strikers always need to score goals. It was nice to do it in a World Cup match. It was important."

Costa had scored only once since returning to the national team after being out for several months because he couldn't play with Atletico Madrid following a FIFA transfer ban.

There were questions about whether Costa would be included in the World Cup list, as several other strikers were in the running, including Alvaro Morata. He made it, but then there were doubts about whether he would be a starter following the sudden coaching change that rocked the Spanish national team just before the tournament.

"My teammates always supported me, during the bad moments and the good moments," Costa said. "I knew things would turn around. Hopefully it will continue like this."

"This is a family," the 29-year-old Costa said. "The people may not think it is from the outside, but we are a family. We have to move on and show that we are a family."

Spain's next game is Wednesday against Group B leaders Iran who won their opener against Morocco.