No team news from del Bosque

Six times Vicente del Bosque was asked last night would he be changing his line-up from that which earned a point against Italy.

Five times he swerved the question before finally revealing he had decided on his starting XI.

What that is, he wouldn’t say.

The expectation is that the Spanish manager will dispense with the ‘false nine’ experiment by dispensing with Cesc Fabregas and revert to more traditional norms by promoting Fernando Torres or Fernando Llorente from the bench.

None of which is to say he has held his hands up and admitted he got it wrong by starting Fabregas in the phantom striker’s role against the Azzurri. He was resolute in his convictions after the opener in Gdansk and again last night.

In truth, he spoke with the calm you would expect of a man who has managed the madness at Real Madrid three times and his position of serenity is no doubt aided by the fact he recently claimed to have a signed an extension to his contract with the Spanish FA.

“We will see at the end of the championship,” he said of the criticisms. “Maybe there will be a problem but I don’t have any enemies, or at least I don’t know them. It is exaggerated. I am not new to the world of football. I know how these things happen. I understand the debate.

“It always happens in football. Someone expressed an opinion and the only difference is I have to decide and the rest are just opinions of other people. Sometimes there are changes, especially in friendlies, but I don’t have to defend my decisions here.”

The morale, he insisted, is very much “intact” and that goes for Torres and his other strikers who can’t have been too enamoured by his decision to leave them all on the bench. “It would be different if we could play 13,” he added.

Ireland, as with many before them, would dearly love that option against the reigning world and continental champions, but diplomacy demands declarations of respect are applied in both directions at pre-match press conferences and yesterday was no different.

Ireland are hardly the type of side to cause ulcers for a team such as Spain but the physicality and aerial abilities associated with the ‘British’ style continues to exercise the minds of our cosmopolitan cousins, if only those among the fourth estate.

“Yes I am worried,” said Del Bosque. “I know they have lots of weapons and not only with high balls. They have tall players and we have players who have played against them in the Premier League who know all about them. (Kevin) Doyle, for example, is very dangerous and they are very good as individuals. They are aggressive so we will have to be careful and play a good match but I hope that we will win and dominate the game.”