Vicente del Bosque affirmed to the press that he has already decided which eleven players will make up Spain´s starting eleven for their Euro 2012 opening fixture against Italy on Sunday. However, the coach has yet to make his squad or the public aware of this.
"We know the team, but the players don´t know it," stated Del Bosque, the coach who led Spain to their first World Cup triumph in 2010.
"We are well, we are ready to start the competition. We haven´t noticed that we are at the end of the season. We arrive at a good moment, we are looking forward to seeing what happens on the field."
The coach then switched his attention to rivals Italy, a team which he highly respects: “Italy have changed, whether you look at their players or the ideas of their coach, and it will be a very hotly contested match. We will try to take the initiative, but it won´t be easy. Not too long ago they beat us in Bari, and because of this we have to play the match with everything that we´ve got."
Del Bosque admitted that the game could have various scenarios, and he referred to what he expects come Sunday.
"We can talk about everything that we know from the national team up until now, and of their game style. We can´t predict what could happen. We will have to prepare ourselves in the best possible manner, in all aspects, tactically, to make the most of all of our virtues. It is a team based on Juventus and with players of great experience and quality," he explained.
Finally, the tactician stated that midfielder Andres Iniesta finds himself in "ideal form" and that Spain will miss David Villa, who he refers to as being "the best striker of our history."
European and world champions Spain come into Euro 2012 as the main candidates to win the competition, even if they will have to be at their very best to overcome Sunday´s opponents Italy, as well as the likes of Germany, England, France and the Netherlands further down the track.
