14 November 2004
Tord Exclusive: England v Spain 
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“Raul is a marvellous player,” says the England coach. “We are still waiting to see who will join him upfront and that will be a real test for us.”

The Spain and Madrid captain is an elusive and deadly striker but Grip says Wayne Rooney can be a similarly incisive threat for England.

“We have a Raul,” he explains. “I think perhaps Wayne Rooney could play in that role as the second striker, scoring goals from deep. He is a special, special player.”

With everything geared towards qualification for the World Cup Finals in 2006, Grip says that Spain are the kind of high quality opponents that England need to be facing.

“The Bernabeu is a big stadium and I think it will be a really nice atmosphere,” he says.

“They have some technically very good players. They pass the ball very well so it will be a good test for our defence I think.

Grip instantly names Casillas (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona) and Torres (Atletico Madrid) as players to admire, and he has also been impressed by the form of Arsenal’s prodigiously talented Jose Antonio Reyes this season.

“He has all the quality to play anywhere in the world,” he explains. “The next step for him now is to be in the line-up every time Spain play.”

Meanwhile, the other English-based player in the Spain squad has also impressed Tord.

He describes Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso as “an intelligent player, a good communicator and a creative influence.”

As for the Spain-based England players, Grip believes that they may even convince some of the locals to support England!

“Both Beckham and Owen are very popular there,” he says, noting that England will be playing in a Madrid-like all-white strip on the night.

“Although David has been injured recently. Michael has done his job that’s for sure. He’s on a run at the moment and when you are on that kind of run you don’t want it to stop. I hope that it will continue for a long time.

“I think everyone is looking forward to this game.”