Dani Carvajal

Julen Lopetegui’s Liga debut resulted in a comfortable 2-0 victory over Getafe with Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale scoring either side of half-time.

It's going to be a siege, was how someone described it to me yesterday, and that's exactly what we used as today's headline in the newspaper.

Ramos, Busquets and Isco back for the dress rehearsal that awaits us in the city of Krasnodar, within a fantastic stadium which was described to me as 'a futuristic Roman circus'.

If Carvajal is finally ruled out, the most likely replacement is Rodri, a central midfielder, not a defender.

Something I liked even less than seeing no goal-scoring solution was that Sergio Ramos and Isco were allowed to miss the entire trip,

Plenty of good play, but short on that crucial finishing touch. That's how you could summarise Spain's display in their 1-1 draw against Switzerland...

For Julen Lopetegui's Spain, preparations for this month's World Cup finals begin in Vila-real tonight against Switzerland, a tougher test than it might appear.