Spain meet France in the last match of the second round in Hanover on Tuesday with La Furia Roja’s in-form team looking to secure a quarter-final encounter with Brazil at the expense of a so-far unconvincing Les Bleus side.

Spain topped Group H, equalling best scoring record in the group stages, with a tally of eight goals – the same as both Germany and Argentina - and head coach Luis Aragones was filled with belief in his team ahead of the knock-out clash with France

“All respect to the French, but I am sure we will get past them to reach the quarter-finals,” said Aragones.

“France are a very good team, there is no doubt about that - but I am convinced we will beat them.

“I believe we will get back to our best, as we were against Ukraine and then in the second half against Tunisia. That's the kind of image we want to show,” added the La Furia Roja coach.

Spain will start from a completely changed team to the one that beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, a game in which their entire starting 11 for their two first wins were rested.

The Spanish captain Raul starts along with Atlético Madrid’s Fernando Torres and Valencia’s David Villa in attack, with Liverpool’s Luis Garcia and Arsenal’s Jose Antonio Reyes both starting on the bench.

France, who finished second to Switzerland in Group F will see their veteran captain Zinedine Zidane return after suspension and will be joining Franck Ribery, Florent Malouda and Willy Sagnol in defence.

Arsenal’s Thierry Henry, who played a lone striker role in France’s opening two matches, will be starting alone up-front for the start of the match. David Trezeguet and Lyon’s Sylvain Wiltord both start on the bench for Les Bleus, as will Manchester United’s Mikael Silvestre and Sidney Govou.

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