Spaniards have no time to put their feet up

Spain's World Cup squad will happily forsake a few weeks' rest if it means being on a flight to South Africa.

Spain's Valencia pair of Carlos Marchena, foreground, and Juan Mata exercise during a training session on the outskirts of Madrid yesterday.

Several players in Spain's 23-man World Cup squad had not enjoyed a single day off since the Primera Liga season ended when they met for their pre-World Cup camp at the Las Rozas training facility in the north of Madrid on Monday. All were happy to be there, however - and to avoid the fate of several less fortunate members as Vicente Del Bosque, the coach, trimmed the squad from 30.

Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, the Villarreal midfielders who were both members of the Euro 2008-winning squad, were among those to miss out, along with Dani Guiza and Alvaro Negredo, the strikers. "The key will be to prepare as well as we possibly can for the battle ahead, because we'll come up against very, very strong opponents," Del Bosque told reporters. The former Real Madrid coach takes charge of Spain for the first time at a first major international tournament. He twice led Real to Champions League success and now aims to help his country win the World Cup for the first time. The European champions may be tournament favourites, but they have never finished higher than fourth in the World Cup - in 1950. Spain go to South Africa ranked as the No 1 team in the world and boosted by a run of 10 straight wins from their qualifying group.

Before the formalities of posing for photographs in their smart grey suits and red ties with the king's son, Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the squad trained, as they will do until tomorrow. The Barcelona players joked with the Real players about the league title, the Basque lads from the north mingled with the Sevilla boys from the south. Spain head to another training camp at altitude in Austria on Friday, where they will play a friendly game against Saudi Arabia in Innsbruck the next day. They then play South Korea at the same venue next Thursday before a final friendly against Poland in Murcia on June 8.

Training has been going well. Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal captain, ignored speculation linking him with an imminent move to Barcelona as he returns after overcoming a broken tibia sustained at the end of March. Fernando Torres has not been so fortunate. The Liverpool forward, who scored the winning goal when Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the final of Euro 2008, trained alone as he continues his recovery after undergoing a second operation in three months to repair damage in his right knee.

Oscar Luis Celada, one of the squad's medical team, said he was optimistic that Torres would be fit for La Roja's opening Group H match against Switzerland on June 16 in Durban. Games against Honduras and Chile will follow, with Del Bosque saying that he only had a "slight concern" over his side's walking wounded. His squad includes many of the names who became European champions in Vienna. Iker Casillas is still the No 1 goalkeeper, but Victor Valdes, the Barcelona stopper, is one of the new names in the squad alongside his teammate Pedro - both having enjoyed excellent seasons in the Primera Liga.

Saudi Arabia may seem a strange choice of opponent, but they will be no walkover. South Africa is the first World Cup they have failed to qualify for since 1990, though they have slipped from 28th in Fifa's world rankings in 2004 to 66th. They beat the UAE twice in the final round of Asian qualifying, but lost in a play-off to Bahrain, who were then beaten by New Zealand. For Spain though, it is all about preparation as their golden generation set about the task of turning promise into results and winning the World Cup. @Email:[e-mail]