Casillas equals Hierro's cap mark

Spain are on a 28-game unbeaten run and host England tonight in Seville in a stadium where they have never lost, but head coach Vicente del Bosque is taking nothing for granted with crucial FIFA World Cup qualifying games on the horizon.

Europe's finest
Del Bosque's side have made the perfect start on the road to South Africa in 2010, taking maximum points from their first four Group 5 games. However, with their next competitive fixtures being back-to-back matches against UEFA EURO 2008™ semi-finalists Turkey on 28 March and 1 April, Del Bosque feels there can be no slip-ups in the friendly against England. "We'll be looking to avoid making errors in this game," the former Real Madrid CF boss said. "This is the last opportunity we have to see what we can do before the Turkey games. England have improved a lot under Fabio Capello and they have some really good players. I feel this is a very prestigious friendly between the best two teams in Europe right now."

Young hopefuls
With injuries preventing Cesc Fàbregas (knee) and Carles Puyol (thigh strain) from joining up with the squad, there may be opportunities for FC Barcelona duo Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets to win their first senior caps. Both players have impressed for the Liga leaders this term and Del Bosque has been particularly interested in 20-year-old midfielder Busquets' progress. "He's been a welcome sight over the past few months," the coach said. "Despite being so young, he's tactically very good; he controls the midfield well. The only area I would say he could maybe improve is in goalscoring, but having said that he does a fantastic job box-to-box."

Home rule
Should England manage to beat their hosts at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium, they will be the first team to do so. Spain have won 17 of the 22 games they have played there and with La Furia Roja enjoying an unbeaten run stretching back to 15 November 2006, the odds are against an away win. "It's great that the game is taking place at this stadium," Del Bosque said after it was announced the friendly was a sell-out. "The national team have always been cherished down here and I'm convinced that we'll see proof of that on Wednesday night."