Recife (Brazil), June 17 (IANS) Striker Roberto Soldado admits he is unsure if he will start in Spain’s next match against Tahiti, despite scoring in La Roja’s 2-1 defeat of Uruguay in their Confederations Cup opener.
The Valencia frontman Sunday night was a surprise inclusion at Arena Pernambuco by coach Vicente del Bosque, who preferred the 28-year-old to Fernando Torres and David Villa, reports Xinhua.
After the match he praised the team’s ability to maintain its trademark passing game, despite constant pressure from La Celeste defence.
“The philosophy of the team wasn’t lost even against a team of Uruguay’s quality,” Soldado said. “We maintained possession and had our usual movement which created goalscoring chances. I don’t know if I’m going to start in the next match. That’s a decision for the coach to make.”
Soldado cooly slotted Spain’s opening goal against the 2011 Copa America winners after a perfectly weighted pass from Cesc Fabregas.
He admitted his side endured a nervous end to the match after Luis Suarez scored from a free-kick in the 88th minute.
“We are happy because we’ve beaten a difficult opponent. But we can’t afford to relax at the end when we are leading 2-0. They scored in the last few minutes and put themselves back in the match.”
Spain will now travel to Rio de Janeiro ahead of Thursday’s match against Oceania champions Tahiti at the Maracana stadium.
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