Aragonés unmoved by Spain success

Coach Luis Aragonés said Spain were "simply doing our duty" after a 1-0 victory against Northern Ireland left them top of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying Group F.

Long-range strike
A deflected long-range strike from midfielder Xavi Hernández avenged Spain's 3-2 defeat in Belfast early in the campaign. Aragonés's side, who had booked their finals place by beating previous group leaders Sweden 3-0 at the weekend, also extinguished Northern Ireland's hopes in the rematch in Gran Canaria. The visitors had needed to win on Wednesday while hoping for a Swedish loss to Latvia – in the event, Sweden triumphed by 2-1.

Final outcome
Aragonés, in his 44th game in charge, equalled José Antonio Camacho as Spain's fourth-longest serving coach. Although his record of 29 wins, eleven draws and four defeats looks good on paper, he had come in for fierce criticism at the start of qualifying and took little pride in the Group F outcome. "Spain have been qualifying for tournaments for many years so this isn't a success – but simply doing our duty," he said.

'Always confident'
Those reverses in Northern Ireland and Sweden in late 2006 sparked fears of catastrophe, but Spain won eight of their next nine group games to progress. "I was always confident we would qualify," said Aragonés. "I congratulated the players and told them we have to carry on in the same way because we now have seven months to prepare for the [UEFA] European Championship. The players' behaviour has been exemplary, and the fact the team have pleased the public makes me proud."

Extra credit
FC Barcelona's Xavi, Wednesday's goalscorer, certainly feels the momentum is with his side, saying: "We have finished the campaign with a good taste in our mouths after beating Sweden and Northern Ireland. It's not important that I scored but that the team won. It's very tough to qualify for the finals because the standard of European football is very competitive, and that only enhances our achievement."