Del Bosque expects France to attack

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque believes France will do more than simply park the bus when the teams meet in Saturday’s Euro 2012 quarter-final.

Les Bleus coach Laurent Blanc has indicated he would have to consider altering his side’s tactics in order to combat Spain’s patented tiki-taka, possession orientated style of play.

But with the likes of Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Yohan Cabaye in their ranks, World Cup winner Del Bosque is sure France will stay true to the methods that helped them go 23 matches unbeaten before their shock defeat against Sweden on Monday.

“I have a hard time believing they will just close the defence up. They have players who can start and build the play and I can’t see them defending all of the time and waiting for us to do something. I just hope the match will turn out well,” he said.

“The French coach is a great coach and he has great players at his disposal and the match they lost against Sweden does not tell us anything. They had not lost for a long time before this and that is the thing we will have to think about.

“I’ve never been one to say relationships in all teams are idyllic. You have to work to have good. Of course, some of players are more difficult to cope with but as long as they play well on pitch that’s the important thing. I don’t know the French players but I don’t think (what happened after the Sweden game) will influence tomorrow’s match.”

Del Bosque is still yet to work out whether to start with Fernando Torres, who scored twice against Ireland in the group stage, or field Cesc Fabregas in the more advanced position which has seen the former Arsenal skipper also strike twice in the competition.

The 61-year-old admitted he would continue to agonise over the decision and that, despite the constant success he has enjoyed in a position he has held since 2008, has consistently been racked by self-doubt due to the quality he has at his disposal.

“I haven’t decided the team, that is why we have doubts. We have great players and any of them can player. We have lots of different options and we will just try and pick the best of them,” he said.

“It’s not true to say I have doubts just today. I have always had 23 players and all of them great, all of them important in their clubs. I could use all of them and that’s why I have doubts. It would be bad to be sure about everything.

“We will see tomorrow about the team but Cesc is an option. He is a great player and he can play in different positions as he does for Barcelona. We will try to use the benefits of players who are in their top form.”