Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui is a self-confessed English football obsessive who hopes to make his mark at Wembley on Tuesday.
Former Porto boss Lopetegui has enjoyed a successful start to his reign with the national team, earning 10 points from four World Cup qualifiers following a 2-0 friendly win over Belgium on debut.
The 2010 world champions face another tricky non-competitive task on the road this week against an England side who boast an identical record in qualification, having dispatched Scotland 3-0 on Friday.
Spain were 4-0 winners over Macedonia 24 hours later and Lopetegui is relishing a match against a nation whose football culture fascinates him, despite their recent woeful form at major tournaments.
It s an honour for us to come here and play at Wembley. It s always a difficult place to come and we re up against an opponent that is in good form with a good squad of players, he said.
Wembley is a marvellous environment in which to play a game of football
There s lots and lots of things I like about English football. It s the whole world of English football that I m fascinated by – the supporters the stadiums, the atmosphere.
There are also some fantastic players. Everything around English football is very professional. There are some superb players. I am a big fan of English football.
Gareth Southgate will be in the opposite dugout to Lopetegui, having also progressed from leading his country s Under-21 side.
The match is the last of four in an interim tenure for Southgate, who stepped in at short notice after predecessor Sam Allardyce was brought down by a newspaper sting.
Southgate is the favourite to take on the post full-time and Lopetegui has been impressed by his counterpart s work to date.
He is improving the English team, he said. They are showing different skills in the offensive phase and I think they are trying to organise their offensive phase, that is my impression.
You can say that [we have had similar paths]. He has the challenge now, he is doing I think a very good job and I wish him the best.
Cesar Azpilicueta is set to be one of a number of familiar faces for Premier League followers in the Spain side and the Chelsea defender believes the influx of his countrymen into England s top flight over recent years can only benefit Lopetegui s team.
When I first came over there weren t so many, generally Spanish players didn t travel abroad quite so much, he said, speaking alongside his coach at a pre-match news conference.
I think when English clubs sign a Spanish player they will be looking to enhance the quality within the squad. Spanish football offers a slightly different philosophy and has a slightly different style.
Also, for us Spanish players we can only improve by playing in other countries and that is certainly the case in England.
