Arbeloa hopes matches will get exciting
Spain defender Alvaro Arbeloa hopes fans won't have to wait until the European champion's first Group H match to watch some exciting football following a less than thrilling opening day of the World Cup.
Following the lacklustre 0-0 draw between France and Uruguay and the 1-1 result between South Africa and Mexico on Friday, Arbeloa wants to see some exciting play in the 13 games before Spain's opener against Switzerland on Wednesday.
"Of course, good football will come in the World Cup and it won't just be from our players," Arbeloa said Saturday. "We'll play our way, which luckily provides attractive football that the public likes a lot. But our only responsibility is to go for victory and Spain goes for victory playing attractive football."
Argentina's 1-0 win over Nigeria on Saturday didn't provide goals but restored some of the spectacle for frustrated fans, with Arbeloa saying draws often occurred since teams fear losing the first game.
Spain's style is quick-touch passing and to keep the bulk of possession throughout matches, which has won it admiration and guided it to the European Championship in 2008.
A key part of that play is Andres Iniesta, who continued to train on his own Saturday for a second day as he recovers from a right thigh muscle injury.
"Little by little I am doing more things and the feeling is good," Iniesta said. "Let's see how things go the next few days and I hope I will have a chance to play."
The Barcelona midfielder was the only Spain player to start each of the team's Euro 2008 matches.
"Iniesta is such an important player," midfielder David Silva said. "Although he's here in good physical shape, he arrived with a little problem, but I see him happy and he's recovering."
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque put the team through a fast-pace workout, focusing on quick passing and possession and shooting drills.
Xabi Alonso, also a regular, withdrew early from the 70-minute session following a knock in practice, although it did not appear serious. In the evening session, Del Bosque didn't want to risk any further problems and had Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piquet join Alonso to train apart from the team in the gym.
"There are always injuries in football and in sport and a lot of the time you can't do anything about that," said Arbeloa, who is trying to take Joan Capdevila's spot at left back. "We're keeping our fingers crossed that no one gets hurt and that those who have problems recover well."
Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas completed training normally - they have been recovering smoothly from right leg injuries.
Spain, which also plays Honduras and Chile, has only lost twice in its last 49 games, arriving at the tournament as a clear favourite. Spain beat Poland 6-0 on Tuesday.
"The game against Poland brought us more confidence," Silva said. "It was a bit tougher against South Korea and Saudi Arabia but all of the other teams will be alert to our trajectory coming in.
"We're calm and focused on ourselves," the Valencia midfielder said. "If there's a lot of euphoria, it can hurt us, so we just have to do what we know."
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