Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 8y

Diego Costa still has backing of Spain coach Vicente del Bosque

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says Diego Costa still wants to show what he can do for La Roja but the Chelsea striker must fight for a place.

Brazil-born Costa, 26, has had a disappointing time at international level since switching allegiance to Spain ahead of the 2014 World Cup, scoring just once against Luxembourg in nine caps, and often missing out on games due to niggling injury issues.

Del Bosque did not call up the former Atletico Madrid player for last week's Euro 2016 qualifiers, with the veteran coach saying he disapproved of Costa's recent behaviour in a Premier League game against Arsenal.

Juventus forward Alvaro Morata and Valencia's Paco Alcacer started the games against Luxembourg and Ukraine, with Del Bosque saying on Al Primer Toque radio show after Monday's 1-0 win in Kiev that he knew Costa wanted to be a success for Spain but there were also plenty of other attacking options to choose from.

"We have seen Diego Costa improve and he has no consequences from the injuries which held him back," Del Bosque said.

"We trust in him and he can bring a lot for us. He is the first one who wants to be with us, and wants to do well. It is a position with a lot competition -- together with Morata, Alcacer, [Roberto] Soldado, [Fernando] Llorente, [Alvaro] Negredo, and [Fernando] Torres, who has more than 100 caps."

Morata, 22, started against Luxembourg but was carried off injured midway through the second half, and now has one goal in six senior caps.

Alcacer, also 22, took his chance when coming off the bench to score twice against the minnows, and although he had a less successful game against Ukraine, he now has an impressive six goals in 10 senior internationals.

Spain's next confirmed game is a friendly against England in Alicante on Friday Nov. 13, with another friendly game in Belgium expected to soon be confirmed for the following Tuesday Nov. 17.

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