Football
ESPN staff 8y

David De Gea, Iker Casillas both in Spain picture - Vicente Del Bosque

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque did not reveal whether he would opt to use Manchester United's David De Gea or Porto's Iker Casillas at goalkeeper when Spain play England and Belgium in international friendlies next week.

The Spanish team qualified for the Euro 2016 finals following a 4-0 win over Luxembourg last month and Casillas, 34, had been Del Bosque's first choice during the campaign, playing in seven of the 10 qualifying matches. 

Against Ukraine last month, Del Bosque handed De Gea a starting role in the 1-0 win, and his impressive performance reopened debate in Spain over who should be the No. 1.

Del Bosque, who was in Mexico to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at Liga MX side Pachuca on Wednesday, said that meant he had options.

#INSERT type:image caption:David De Gea's play has reopened debate in Spain over who should be the No. 1 goalkeeper. END#

"We are lucky to be in this situation. It is ideal," he told ESPN.

"Up until recently, we have had three goalkeepers who were without a doubt very valuable and they were Victor Valdes, Pepe Reina and Iker Casillas.

"The one who has most impressed has been Iker. And now we have preferred to bring in David De Gea and he is competing for a position.

"There is no problem. It is not David De Gea today. It is David De Gea and Iker Casillas."

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas has been the manager's preferred option for much of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, despite De Gea's fine performance against Ukraine.

Casillas was a key player during Spain's golden era, helping the side to the Euro 2008 and 2012 titles and the 2010 World Cup.

However, his position has been under scrutiny after a disastrous World Cup 2014 campaign was followed by his move from Madrid to Porto.

Del Bosque said he was confident that Spain would recover from their 2014 World Cup debacle and said La Liga's success helped keep Spanish football in the spotlight.

"There are many influencing factors," Del Bosque said. "Our club level is doing very well, but we have failed to keep up on the national team side.

"On the club level, we have dominated most of Europe and maintained hegemony over the years. We have teams in both the Champions League [five] and the Europa League [two], and no other country is in that position.

"Now we need to address the topic of the national team. We have been moving forward with the development of coaches, better facilities, the people around the younger teams have better training, our players playing outside the country.

"Young coaches have been going outside the country to get experience."

Del Bosque said he was unsure how or exactly when he would hand over national team duties to a successor.

"My stay with the national team has nothing to do with results -- it depends on what is best for the team and federation and we have time to think about that," he said.

"And I will make that decision based on that. I have a contract through Euro 2016 in France, and if someone else comes along I will help them.

We are lucky to have a national team in good shape, and the person who takes over will know which direction it is going in."

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