Fine form: Spain celebrate their friendly win over Serbia

'Negredo and Soldado are two extraordinary and distinct players. One is quicker but the other offers more to the play of the team.'

Del Bosque also reflected on how the squad had evolved since winning the World Cup in South Africa two years ago, but again lamented the absence of David Villa and Carles Puyol through injury.

'Villa is irreplaceable, for his characteristics and effectiveness no one can do better than him,' he said. 'We feel the same with Puyol, who is also a fundamental miss for us.

'We have come four years since the last Euros and there has been a 50 per cent change in what was a relatively young squad. There were seven changes before South Africa and three since.

« Previous123Next »