Camacho: Ireland are among the best in the world

Spain's coach Jose Antonio Camacho has singled out the Republic of Ireland as one of the best teams in the world, saying he expected a difficult second-round game in the World Cup.

The two sides face each other in Suwon on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.

"They have the mentality of having played 22 games almost without losing, playing the likes of Germany, Cameroon, Portugal and Holland," said Camacho.

"They've played at home and away, they know what they have to do. Maybe it's too early to say but this is one of the best teams about at the moment."

Ireland have only lost one game in their last 22 outings. That result was 1-0 against Iran in November 2001 in a World Cup qualifier, but Ireland won the home-and-away play-off on aggregate by 2-1.

Ireland beat Holland to qualify for the World Cup, finishing second in their group behind Portugal only on goal differencel.

Spain reached the second round of the finals, winning Group B with victories over Slovenia, Paraguay and South Africa.

Ireland were second in Group E with draws against Germany and Cameroon, and a win against Saudi Arabia.

"They're one of the strongest teams in the tournament," said Camacho. "They know their strong points and they'll exploit them to the full. When they are inferior they know how to play and not rush into things and, in that respect, they are better than the rest."