Del Bosque targets friendly education

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has named an experienced squad for the friendlies against England and Costa Rica this month determined to get the maximum benefit from the games with just one more match to follow before he names his squad for UEFA EURO 2012. Del Bosque has chosen not to draft anyone in for a first call-up, and has been able to recall Barcelona star Andres Iniesta, who scored the winner the last time the world and European champions played England on English soil back in 2007. Iniesta was absent from the squad for last month's EURO 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Scotland because of a hamstring injury, but is in a squad which also features Barca team-mate Cesc Fabregas, who suffered a hamstring tear during club training having initially been named in the party to face the Czechs and the Scots. Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo, who was also forced to pull out of the squad for the October qualifiers with a hamstring problem, is still unavailable for Del Bosque, while Barca forward Pedro is also injured. Sevilla winger Jesus Navas has been recalled to the squad, with Malaga full-back Nacho Monreal also included. The squad would appear to give a strong indication of how Del Bosque sees things for next summer, and he told the Spanish federation's official website www.rfef.es: "Before submitting the squad list for the Euros we have only three (more) games. "There will be some games to come after the squad get together, but we have to make the most of these matches. England are a great team, and we will be playing in an extraordinary stadium - Wembley. "We tailor these games to be the best they can be for the team and for the federation. We have played five matches since the summer and no player has played 90 minutes in all of them, so I don't think that has come as a shock to their clubs." One name missing from the squad was highly-rated Barcelona youngster Thiago Alcantara, who has dropped back into the U-21s. Del Bosque added: "Thiago is a player that has the respect of everyone. I have spoken with him personally, we thought that this time he needed to go with the under-21s. We are very confident in his ability despite the competition for places in the senior team." Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas is set to equal the Spanish caps record of 126 at Wembley, going level with former Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta.