England v Spain
International Friendly
8pm, Wednesday 7 February 2007
Old Trafford, Manchester
Archive - England v Spain 
Ticket information - Click Here
Ticket Prices: £40, £30, £20 (Members £35, £25, £15)

6 February 2007
Steve McClaren Press Conference

Watch the press conference as Steve McClaren names his starting XI for Spain, which includes Ben Foster.

5 February 2007
VIDEO: England in training

The England team take to the training field for a light session ahead of the friendly game with Spain.

Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is wishing Steven Gerrard all the best in his first home game as England captain - but has promised him a difficult match at Old Trafford.

The Liverpool duo are good friends on and off the pitch at Anfield and there has been plenty of banter between them in the build-up to tomorrow’s clash.

But although both are desperate to win the international bragging rights before they return to Merseyside on Thursday, there is no doubting the respect between them.

Alonso said: "It’s an extra motivation for me playing against Stevie. The fact that I have teammates on the other side makes it special for me.

"It’s an opportunity to play with a smile on my face knowing I have friends on the other team.

"But I will be delighted of course if we win. We have been speaking about this game for a while. It’s a big game and playing against each other is exciting."

Gerrard has been named England skipper because John Terry has only just recovered from injury, and it’s an honour that Alonso believes is well deserved.

The Liverpool hero has only been England captain once before, and that was away against Sweden in March, 2004.

Alonso said: "Everybody at Liverpool will be happy for him. For a while he has shown he has great character and good support for his teammates. If he plays the same way he will do well as England captain."

The last time England played Spain, of course, it was Alonso and Co who came out on top with a convincing 1-0 in Madrid in November, 2004. But the Spaniard insists he will take nothing for granted this time.

"We played very well that day but I’m not thinking about what happened in Madrid.

"We are really focused and motivated for this game," he said.

"Like England, we didn’t achieve what we wanted in the World Cup. But I’m really excited to play at Old Trafford in front of a massive English crowd and I hope we can perform well and have a good game."