Spain coach Vicente del Bosque breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after what he called the “suffering” of qualifying for Euro 2016 and said the holders were close to where he wanted them to be.

Silva was replaced after 10 mins by Juan Mata after suffering a twist in his ankle and Morata had to be stretchered off 20 mins later after suffering heavy bruises to his fibula. We congratulate the qualification.

Valencia forward Alcacer, 22, is one of the relative youngsters Del Bosque is hoping will help underpin Spain’s campaign in France.

“We are in an ideal situation”, Del Bosque said.

“[Paco Alcacer] will start against Ukraine”.

On the win itself, Del Bosque praised Luxembourg’s organisation and occasional attacking threat, but added: “We had control of the game at nearly every turn and with many chances”.

Spain controlled Friday night’s game, but only sealed the win in the closing minutes. We’ll play with complete courage and interest in the game.

“Any team can make things hard”. We’ve reached our objective.

“The defeat in Slovakia took its toll on the rest of the campaign”.

“I wouldn’t say we have 11 players that will always play, but we have an idea of how we want to play and everyone is going in the right direction”.

La Roja wrapped up qualification for Euro 2016 as Group C winners with a 4-0 victory over Luxembourg on Saturday, but the Coach claims only part of the job is done as he evoked memories of his team’s resounding win against Italy in Kiev three years ago.

Costa’s spell with Spain has been plagued by injuries but the former Atletico Madrid star has been below-par for Chelsea so far this season, scoring just one goal in six Premier League appearances. “That doesn’t mean I can let my guard down, though, I have to keep trying so I can come back more often”.