Barcelona star Xavi is a proud man after helping Spain set a new world mark of 15 consecutive wins, but he is missing injured teammate Andres Iniesta.
Iniesta dropped out of the Spain squad for the Confederations Cup because of a thigh injury that may sideline him for up to two months.
Xavi wishes he was with the team in South Africa.
“I am missing Iniesta in the team. I spoke to him on Friday and asked him how he is,” he said of a player who is a key member of the Spain squad and helped Barcelona win the treble this season.
“I’m proud of what the team is doing and we want to maintain our form and we are aiming for next year’s World Cup,” he added.
Xavi too is an important member of the Spain team that has set a new win record and is on the cusp of beating Brazil’s 35-match unbeaten run.
He paid tribute to coach Vicente del Bosque who has won all 13 matches since he took the job.
“Of course we are very happy with the way the team is playing and Vicente is doing a tremendous job,” he said.
“He gives us a big help. Our team philosophy is working and we want to aim for other titles together.
“I am not after individual awards, only team ones,” added the 29-year-old who was named man-of-the match.
Spain play their semi-final in Bloemfontein next Wednesday against the runner-up from Group B, either Brazil, Italy or Egypt.
“Spain play their semi-final in Bloemfontein next Wednesday against the runner-up from Group B, either Brazil, Italy or Egypt.”
Whoops? Not that I really blame anyone for the omission I guess it just goes to show that anything can happen in football.