France vs Spain Preview

Spain striker Alvaro Negredo will hope to further his claims for a World Cup berth when the Iberian nation take on France.

Barring injuries, the majority of Vicente del Bosque's travelling party for South Africa will pick itself and will feature the bulk of the squad that led Spain to Euro 2008 glory.

One of the few spots that appears to still be up for grabs is that of back-up striker to first-choice duo David Villa and Fernando Torres, and their fellow European champion Dani Guiza.

A number of forwards will still be hoping to fill that berth, including Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente and Roberto Soldado of Getafe, but the man in possession at the minute is Negredo, who only made his international debut last year.

The 24-year-old forward has had a mixed time of it lately for Sevilla, netting his first Champions League goal in last week's 1-1 draw at CSKA Moscow but also being sent off twice in his last three league games as well as scoring an own goal.

Despite that, Negredo retained his place in Del Bosque's squad and he is hoping he can impress enough both for Spain and Sevilla over the coming months to ensure he is on the plane to South Africa.

"There's still a fair bit of time for the World Cup, but to be here is an important step. I have to make sure the coach continues counting on me, but there is a lot of the league season left and I have to do everything to be in South Africa," he said.

"Hopefully I can be in the final list, which will be the decisive one. There's a lot of work ahead of me to be on there, though. Players such as Soldado, Llorente or [Aritz] Aduriz could also get in as the fourth striker."

Spain make the hop north to neighbouring France looking to continue their remarkable run of form over the last three years.

Since losing to Romania in November 2006, the Spanish have won 41 - including two after extra time - of 44 matches, with their only defeat coming against the United States at last summer's Confederations Cup.

During that run Spain also defeated France 1-0 in a friendly in Malaga as part of their build-up to their successful Euro 2008 campaign, Joan Capdevila scoring the winner with 10 minutes remaining.

France are returning to action for the first time since the hand of Thierry Henry controversially helped to propel them to the World Cup at the expense of the Republic of Ireland in November, and coach Raymond Domenech has a number of injuries to contend with ahead of the game.

The likes of William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Karim Benzema and Sebastien Squillaci are absent for Les Bleus, while Everton striker Louis Saha was forced to pull out out of the squad yesterday with ankle and hamstring problems.

In-form striker Djibril Cisse of Panathinaikos has been drafted in as Saha's replacement and is in line to win his first cap since May 2008.

Cisse has been in outstanding form in Greece, scoring 25 goals this season - including 20 in 23 league games, and the former Liverpool and Marseille striker's commitment to the cause cannot be faulted.

"I'm going to push myself to the limits," he said.

"I have the chance to shine. I'm going to show what I can do."

Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery may well not be risked by Domenech after only recently returning from an injury lay-off.