RECIFE, Brazil — Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque refused to reveal whether Iker Casillas will start in goal in Sunday's Confederations Cup opener against Group B challengers Uruguay in Recife. Casillas, 32, has been Spain's uncontested first-choice goalkeeper during the glorious run that has seen La Roja accumulate successive victories at Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. However, a hand injury means the Real Madrid man has barely played in 2013 and in his absence, Barcelona rival Victor Valdes has proved a more than capable deputy. “We're going to wait until the last moment, but yes, I've more or less chosen my team,” Del Bosque said at a press conference. “Our three goalkeepers (including Liverpool's Pepe Reina) are excellent. They demonstrate it regularly with their clubs, which are three great clubs, and it gives them a special responsiblity.” Asked about Casillas, who spent the last months of Jose Mourinho's tenure as Madrid coach on the bench, Del Bosque insisted he was not unduly concerned by his recent activity. “In recent times, Iker has had a setback in his career, but I don't think it would handicap him if he had to play the match (Sunday),” he said. “He's assumed his responsibilities very well in the last few years. He's just been through an unprecedented situation, which I imagine wasn't easy for him.” Casillas, who appeared alongside Xavi as joint-captain at an earlier press conference, responded to a question about his chances of starting by saying: “I don't know.” Casillas played a bit-part in each of Spain's two warm-up games, replacing Valdes for the last 30 minutes of the 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland and then playing the first half of the 2-1 defeat of Haiti. Spain's only setback in its five-year dominance of international football was a shock 2-0 defeat by the United States in the semifinals of the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. Copa America winner Uruguay will, however, leave veteran striker Diego Forlan on the bench Sunday. Uruguay has lost ground since winning the Copa America in Argentina two years ago and faces a struggle to qualify for the World Cup Finals next year in Brazil. Luis Suarez will come in having missed the midweek win over Venezuela with Forlan dropping to the bench, coach Oscar Tabarez said. But Forlan, 34, and now with Internacional in Brazil, “is still a very useful player for us,” Tabarez insisted. Nigeria completes lineup Nigeria's status as resounding favorites to beat minnow Tahiti in their opener Monday has been compromised by a delayed arrival that left it just 36 hours to prepare for the game. Tahiti became the first team to arrive in Brazil for the intercontinental showpiece when it touched down on June 7, a full 10 days before the Group B clash with African champion Nigeria in Belo Horizonte. In stark contrast, Nigeria arrived in Brazil Saturday night, giving Stephen Keshi's squad precious little time to shake the jet lag from its systems and get ready for the match. A row over bonus payments had put Nigeria's participation in jeopardy, only for sports minister Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi to broker a truce between the squad and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The Super Eagles have nonetheless gone 17 games unbeaten and will expect to open their campaign with victory against a side ranked 138th in the FIFA ranking. Representing the French Polynesian islands in the south Pacific, Tahiti has no previous senior tournament experience. Its preparations has included a 7-0 thrashing by Chile's under-20 side and a 1-0 loss to Brazilian second-tier club Mineiro, and forward Steevy Chong Hue knows his side could be set for a rude awakening. — Agencies
