Del Bosque: I will quit Spain after World Cup

Vicente del Bosque has revealed he will step down from his position as Spain coach after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.



The former Real Madrid boss has led his country to back-to-back tournament wins at the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 since his appointment in 2008.



But he says next year's competition in South America will be his last in the Spanish hotseat.

"My final responsibility as Spain national coach will be at the World Cup in Brazil next year," Del Bosque told Telam.



"Afterwards, maybe I will continue to work with the Spanish federation carrying out representative duties like this, travelling to different places and accepting invitations to public events."

Spain saw their status as world football's leading power threatened in midweek as La Liga duo Barcelona and Real Madrid suffered heavy UEFA Champions League defeats to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.



But Del Bosque insists this is no time for "pessimism" regarding the state of Spanish football.

"I do not believe that Germany is going to unseat Spain just because of these results," he said.



"We had three teams in the knockout rounds and now the two ties are still not decided. When that happens, we will speak. We should not get ahead of ourselves.



"It could be next week we have to take back what is being said at the moment.



"Nobody expected these results as Spanish football is in a privileged position. The first leg results were very bad.



"But, we have the best foreign players in our country and Spain has been leading the Fifa rankings for some years now. This shows we are in a good moment, and we cannot enter into pessimism just because of two games."

Ramos: The key to our success is unity

Real Madrid centre-back, Sergio Ramos is confident in his side’s chances in their crucial 2014 World Cup qualifier against France on Tuesday evening in Saint-Dennis, as he feels their unity is what makes them such a successful team.

In his pre-match press conference, Ramos spoke about their approach to Tuesday’s match and will not allow Friday’s 1-1 draw against Finland dictate their performance.



“We’ll have to wait to see who’s in France’s starting team. What’s taken us to success is our philosophy, and we can’t change that.



“We’re a great national team; we’ve proved it in El Calderón. We don’t need to change.



“The Spanish national team has many alternatives and they shouldn’t be noticeable. The other day, against Finland, we didn’t know how to finish it off. It doesn’t motivate us more. We always want to win, we would have like to add a victory, of course, but we’re professionals, we move on from the bad things and we always keep in mind that we want to win and that we want to transmit that feeling.”



“The defence or any other position does not affect anything. The key to our success is unity and group strength.



“Football doesn’t have a memory, you need to prove who you are on a daily basis, what happened yesterday is of no use. No one is going to change that we’ve won two European Cups and a World Cup, no one has ever done that, you don’t beat anyone because of a coat of arms, you win because of the excitement, and we’re on the ideal track.”



Ramos, who will earn his 101st cap against France, has insight into opponent, Real Madrid teammate, Karim Benzema.



“Knowing Benzema so well might benefit us in this game, undoubtedly he’s a great football player, and you can’t get distracted for a minute because he might score a goal.”



Ramos concluded by discussing the return of Xavi and the absense of captain and Real Madrid teammate, Iker Casillas.



“The captain’s words show values that Xavi and Iker represent. Xavi has made a huge effort to be here and Iker has travelled here. No one doubts that he’ll return soon.”

David Villa glad Tito's back at Camp Nou

Barcelona and Spanish international striker, David Villa is elated by the news that manager, Tito Vilanova is making is eagerly-anticipated return to the Blaugrana bench after undergoing two months of cancer treatment in New York.

In an interview with TVE, Villa discusses the return of Vilanova and is excited to see him back at work.



“We are excited to have him back with us as soon as possible with much improved health and overcome this hurdle in his life.”



Villa then discussed his own return to form after months of uncertainty following a devastating leg break in December 2011.



“I’m didn’t lose hope and took things day by day. I knew I had to recover well from this serious injury. All of the people around, supporting me directly or indirectly know who they are.”



One of those people who supported Villa was Spanish national team manager, Vicente del Bosque, who has put Spain’s all-time leading scorer back in the fold.

“It’s an honour for me; I have a lifetime of thanks to give him for the care he’s shown towards me.”



‘El Guaje’ then spoke about the national team and their upcoming match against France on Tuesday evening at Saint-Dennis.



“We have a defined playing style that we are not going to change. The style has given us slight scares like the other day [a 1-1 draw against Finland], but it’s also given us a lot of happiness and victories.



“This group has never changed. We are all very close going into a very difficult match.”

David Villa: 'We need to beat France'

Spain striker David Villa has insisted that his side will not play for a draw when they face France in Paris on Tuesday night.

style="border-radius: 25px 25px 25px 25px; border: 5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);" width="320" />The world champions fell two points behind France in Group I after they could only draw with Finland, but Villa has revealed that they will not need to change their approach now that they have fallen behind their group rivals.



The 31-year-old told reporters: "This is a very bad result for us and we did not expect to spill points here.



"However, this does not change our approach for the match in Paris. Regardless of the result of Friday's game, we had set our sights on three points against France.



"It is hard to grasp that we lost two points. We all realise that we have to bounce back right away and want to react against France."



The Barcelona striker has scored 53 goals for Spain.

Torres left out of Spain squad

Fernando Torres has been left out of the Spain squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Finland and France.

The 28-year-old Chelsea striker was omitted from recent friendlies against Panama and Uruguay but has made the squad for earlier World Cup qualifiers.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: "Especially for strikers, inconsistency worries us and Fernando's inconsistency provoked a sense of insecurity in us."

Torres has scored 31 goals in 101 appearances for his country.

Golden Boot winner as top-scorer in Spain's victorious Euro 2012 campaign last summer, he has 17 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season.



But he has not found the net in the Premier League in 2013 and scored only his third goal in 20 games as Chelsea beat Steaua Bucharest in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.



Spain squad to play Finland and France:



Goalkeepers: Victor Valdes (Barcelona), Jose Reina (Liverpool), David de Gea (Man Utd)

Defenders: Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Jordi Alba (Barcelona)



Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Javi Garcia (Man City), Isco (Malaga)



Forwards : David Villa (Barcelona), David Silva (Man City), Pedro (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Chelsea), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Jesus Navas (Sevilla).

Benzema: I’d rather face Ramos than Puyol

Real Madrid and French international striker, Karim Benzema spoke to the media prior to Tuesday evening`s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Spain at the Vicente Calderon.



He  would much rather face his own teammate, Sergio Ramos, than Spain`s two other centre-backs, Barcelona duo Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol.

Benzema began by discussing his Real Madrid teammates, of which there are five, but mostly discussed centre-back Sergio Ramos and goalkeeper, Iker Casillas.



“I’ve been getting messages from a few of the lads, especially Sergio Ramos, who’s a good friend of mine. I would rather be up against him than Gerard Piqué or Carles Puyol, because I know him better.



“Casillas is one of the best players in the world, that’s all that needs to be said on the matter.”



The Frenchman then discussed the Spanish national team and losing to Spain in the Euro 2012 tournament.



“They are the best team in the world – they’ve won everything there is to win. I play with a lot of international players at Madrid, so I know what quality is. Having said that, I don’t think they are unbeatable, this is not mission impossible. It’s still 11 against 11.



“We lost this game [in June] but it doesn’t mean anything, that competition is now over. Now we have to try and win in the Calderón.



This game is different as it’s an international game, but the Calderón is always a difficult place to go, whether you are playing against Spain or Atlético Madrid.”

Lloris: France must attack Spain

Hugo Lloris said France must hit Spain 'where it hurts' when they face Vicente del Bosque's side in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.



The two sides met back in June when the world and European champions strolled to a 2-0 victory in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.



But Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris believes his side can take all three points if they take their chances.



"It could be difficult, but we have to be together, and everyone has to put in a huge effort and hit them where it hurts," Lloris told reporters.



"We will certainly have our chances, and we cannot let them pass."



The pair have had contrasting build-ups to Tuesday's encounter, with Spain strolling to a 4-0 win over Belarus, while Les Bleus fell to a shock defeat at home to Japan on Friday.

Highlights games of International games

Belarus 0 - 4 Spain



Ireland 1 - 6 Germany



Guyana 0 - 5 Mexico



Argentina 3 - 0 Uruguay



Colombia 2 - 0 Paraguay



France 0 - 1 Japan



Bulgaria 1 - 1 Denmark



Holland 3 - 0 Andorra



Wales 2-1 Scotland



Russia 1 - 0 Portugal



England 5 - 0 San Marino

England on the slide in latest FIFA rankings

England have dropped two places to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings, with Spain remaining top of the pile for another month.



Roy Hodgson's side beat Moldova 5-0 away from home before drawing 1-1 to Ukraine at Wembley in their opening two World Cup qualifiers last month.

As a result they have slipped behind Portugal and Argentina in the rankings. Scotland and Wales drop to 56th and 57th respectively, while Northern Ireland rise 12 places to 117th. Ireland are 28th, down two.

Colombia leapt into the top 10 for the first time in 10 years on Wednesday, while Brazil dropped to a record low despite winning three games in the last month.

Colombia, under Argentina's 2006 World Cup coach Jose Pekerman and spearheaded by Atletico Madrid forward Radamel Falcao, enjoyed a 4-0 win over Uruguay and 3-1 win in Chile in last month's World Cup qualifiers.

Those results catapulted the South Americans, who last qualified for the World Cup in 1998, 13 places up the table to ninth.

2014 World Cup hosts Brazil have not played a competitive match since last year's Copa America and, as friendlies carry less weight in the complex ranking system, they have dropped down the table as a result.

Despite beating South Africa 1-0, China 8-0 and Argentina 2-1 last month, Mano Menezes's side slipped to 14th in the table.

World and European champions Spain stayed top, ahead of Germany, while Portugal moved into third place.

Central African Republic, in 49th place, climbed for the seventh month in a row to enter the top 50 for the first time since the rankings began.



Top 10:

1. (1) Spain

2. (2) Germany

3. (4) Portugal

4. (7) Argentina

5. (3) England

6. (8) Netherlands

7. (5) Uruguay

8. (6) Italy

9. (22) Colombia

10. (11) Greece

Andres Iniesta ruled out for two weeks

Andres Iniesta returned from Spain international duty with a muscle strain in his right leg and will be out for between 10 and 15 days, his club Barcelona said on Wednesday.



Iniesta will miss Saturday's La Liga match at Getafe and Wednesday's Champions League Group G opener at home to Spartak Moscow but could be back for the La Liga game against Granada a week on Saturday.



His Spain and Barca teammate Jordi Alba, who was also called up for Friday's friendly against Saudi Arabia and Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Georgia, has the flu and club medical staff will assess the fullback's health again on Friday, Barca added.



Forward David Villa, another Spain international, said on Wednesday he still needed some "running in" after recently returning to action following a broken leg sustained at the Club World Cup in December.



"I was out for many months, almost eight without playing, and that requires a certain recovery process," Villa told a news conference before Wednesday's training session.



"You have to be patient because rushing back now would not benefit anyone," added the 30-year-old, Spain's record scorer who netted on his first game back for both club and country.



"Everything I missed in the meantime won't come back however fast I go."

Spain leave it late; Germany win

A review of the rest of Tuesday night's World Cup qualifying campaign, including wins for Spain and Germany.



Roberto Soldado's 86th-minute winner saved Spain from an embarrassing goalless draw with Georgia in the opening match of their World Cup qualifying campaign.



The Valencia striker, starting for the world champions ahead of Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres, swept the ball home following a short corner to spare the visitors' blushes.



Soldado was the only change to the side that started the Euro 2012 final victory over Italy, but Vicente del Bosque's side were far from at their slick best and almost went behind when Alexander Amisulashvili struck a post.



France topped Spain's Group I after making it two wins out of two with a 3-1 triumph over Belarus.



Etienne Capoue put Didier Deschamps side in front early in the second half and Christophe Jallet added a second.



Les Bleus had a scare when Sergey Kornilenko missed a penalty and Anton Putsila did score a minute later, but Franck Ribery settled the nerves 10 minutes from time.



Germany continued their 100% start to Group C with a 2-1 win in Austria.



Goals from Marco Reus and a Mesut Ozil penalty either side of half-time had Joachim Low's side in control, Zlatko Junuzovic pulling one back for the hosts.



Sweden won their opening game 2-0 at home to Kazakhstan, Rasmus Elm and Marcus Berg on target.



Italy got their first win in Group B with a 2-0 success over Malta.



After a 2-2 draw with Bulgaria in their opener, goals at either end of the match from Mattia Destro and Federico Peluso gave the hosts three points.



Bulgaria joined them on four points after a bad-tempered 1-0 win over Armenia.



Stanislav Manolev scored the winner, but the highlight of the second half was a flurry of red cards, Bulgaria's Svetoslav Dyakov and Armenia's Marcos Pizelli and Gevorg Ghazaryan all sent off.



Holland, so poor in the European Championship, won 4-1 in Hungary to get their second win in Group D.



Jeremain Lens' early opener was quickly cancelled out by a penalty from Balazs Dzsudzsak, but Bruno Martins Indi scored to give the Dutch a 2-1 half-time lead.



Lens with his second and Klaas Jan Huntelaar struck it the second half to ensure a convincing win.



Romania joined them on top of the group after a 4-0 win at home to Andorra, Gabriel Torje, Costin Lazar, Valerica Gaman and Alexandru Maxim on target.



Turkey were 3-0 winners over 10-man Estonia, the goals from Emre Belozoglu, Umut Bulut and Selcuk Inan. Enar Jaager was sent off for the visitors after 19 minutes.



Portugal scored three times in the last 30 minutes to beat Azerbaijan 3-0 Tuesday for its second straight win in World Cup qualifying.



Substitute Silvestre Varela scored with his first touch of the game in the 63rd minute, Ronaldo was also involved in second goal five minutes from the end and Bruno Alves headed in four minutes later as Portugal's misfiring attack found its touch after hitting the woodwork four times in a game it dominated.

Casillas questions qualifying format

Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas has raised concern over the possibility of his side failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2014.



The reigning champions were previously awarded the automatic right to defend their title at the next tournament, but following FIFA rule changes Spain will have to go through UEFA qualifying if they are to be in Brazil in two years.



"Obviously it is strange and unusual that the world champions do not have an automatic ticket for Brazil," Casillas told AS.



"It could happen that we do not reach the World Cup and it would be strange if the champions were not there to defend their title, but we are just thinking about what we are doing."



Drawn in Group I of qualifying, Casillas singled out France as his team's greatest obstacle, with Georgia, Finland and Belarus the other countries in the pool.



"We want to get our first three points, knowing that, in theory, we have games which should not bring us problems, apart from France," he said.



"But we know that these are opponents who can take points off us."



The Spanish team's most-capped player then discussed the opening match against Georgia on Tuesday.



"We know their keeper, (Giorgi) Loria, who was phenomenal against Belarus. We know (Jano) Ananidze, who is a good player.



"As I knew I would be asked, I learned their names."