Navas, Monreal back in Spain squad

07 November 2011 18:16

Winger Jesus Navas and defender Ignacio Monreal earned recalls on Monday from Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque for friendlies against England on Saturday and Costa Rica three days later.

Del Bosque said that both Navas and Monreal were rewarded for playing well with their Primera Liga teams Sevilla and Malaga respectively.

"They (Navas and Monreal) have been included because they have been with us before and are also playing well," said Del Bosque.

Navas, a World Cup winner in South Africa, has not played for Spain since the 2010 tournament because of injury.

Del Bosque has also recalled Barcelona star Andres Iniesta, who scored the winner the last time the world and European champions played in England in 2007.

Iniesta was absent from the squad for last month's Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Scotland because of a hamstring injury.

The squad also features Barcelona teammate Cesc Fabregas, who suffered a hamstring tear during training after initially being named to face the Czechs and Scots.

The Spain manager however refused to be drawn by criticism from Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho over the number of matches and the fact that the national side were changing continents to play friendlies.

"We've only played five internationals since the summer and no-one has played the full 90 minutes, the volume of minutes is the minimum, we don't believe it's a big upset for the clubs," added Del Bosque.

Spain play England on Saturday in Wembley before travelling to play Costa Rica in San Jose with captain Iker Casillas just one game away from overtaking Andoni Zubizarreta's mark of 126 as the country's most capped international.

Spain squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Manuel Reina (Liverpool/ENG), Victor Valdes (Barcelona)

Defenders: Alvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol (all Real Madrid), Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Ignacio Monreal (Malaga)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta (all Barcelona), Santiago Cazorla (Malaga), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao)

Strikers: David Villa (Barcelona), Juan Mata, Fernando Torres (both Chelsea/ENG) David Silva (Manchester City/ENG), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Jesus Navas (Sevilla)

Source: AFP