Spain and England depleted by injuries going into friendly
MADRID (AP) - With both sides hit by a series of injuries, Spain's friendly against England on Friday may not quite live up to expectations.
The game in Alicante features two sides that will be in the spotlight at next year's European Championship - with Spain bidding for a third consecutive European title and England hoping to build on its impressive run of 10 straight qualifying wins.
But the Spanish will be missing Sergio Ramos, Francisco Alarcon "Isco," David Silva, Juanfran Torres and Dani Carvajal, while England will be without forwards Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck.
Fortunately for England coach Roy Hodgson, another of his forwards - Raheem Sterling - is fit and ready to go.
"This is where we really get to see where we are in terms of the tournament in the summer," Sterling said. "Hopefully we can show what we can really do."
Here are some other things to know about Friday's match:
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UNDEFEATED ENGLAND
England is unbeaten in its last 14 games going back to the 2014 World Cup, when it was eliminated in the group stage.
The team has won 12 matches since then - including all 10 in Euro 2016 qualifying - and drawn twice, in friendlies against Italy and Ireland this year.
"We know it was a good run in the qualifying and we were unbeaten but this is the real challenge now," Sterling said.
One of the strikers available on Friday is Jamie Vardy, who has scored in nine straight Premier League games for Leicester.
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DIEGO COSTA DOUBTS
Diego Costa has yet to find his form with Spain since joining before the 2014 World Cup.
The Brazilian-born striker has found the net only once in nine outings for the two-time defending European champions. With Chelsea, Costa has scored three times in 16 matches this season.
He missed the final two European qualifiers because of suspension, which coincided with him serving a three-match ban for Chelsea for violent conduct.
Now Costa returns to the team fresh off another unseemly run-in with an opposing player in Chelsea's latest loss at Stoke.
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has stuck with the striker, but Valencia forward Paco Alcacer is pushing for the leading role in attack after a two-goal performance in a 5-1 win at Celta Vigo on Saturday.
There's also pressure for Del Bosque to bring in Aritz Aduriz, who has been thriving with Athletic Bilbao.
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UP NEXT
Both teams play top sides again on Tuesday, with Spain traveling to face Belgium in Brussels and England hosting France in London for its final game of the year.
England will also play Germany and the Netherlands in March, while Spain will face Italy and Romania that same month in preparations for Euro 2016.
"We can't play these games as if they are friendlies," Spain defender Mario Gaspar said. "They are great tests for our team."
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AP Sports Writer Joseph Wilson in Barcelona contributed to this report.
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Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni