Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas has asked his team-mates to keep their feet on the ground ahead of their second Confederations Cup game against Iraq.

The European champions moved top of Group A after they romped to a 5-0 victory over New Zealand on Sunday and a win against their Asian counterparts in Bloemfontein will seal a place in the semi-final.

Vicente del Bosque's team, who are unbeaten since 2006, will also be looking to move a step closer to the world-record mark of 35 games unbeaten set by Brazil between 1993 and 1996 - they are currently on 33.

Arsenal ace Fabregas, though, is not looking too far beyond the group stages, admitting that the initial priority will be getting past the Iraqis and hosts South Africa.

"There's still a long way to go," he told www.fifa.com. "It's true that our first game was easier than we thought, but it's a long tournament, and there are some excellent teams to come.

"We know we're favourites but we've got to be wary going into these matches. We saw the game between South Africa and Iraq before travelling to the stadium.

"We're very confident but we have to remain composed. We'll be taking the remaining matches extremely seriously."

Fabregas was one of the stand-out players in their tournament debut against the All Whites, setting up the opening goal for Fernando Torres, who scored a hat-trick, and then himself getting on the scoresheet with the fourth Spanish goal.

He added: "We played really well. It's always important to start with a win and that's just what we did. It was a great way to set the ball rolling, and I hope that from here we can improve with every game.

"We realise that this is just the beginning and that there's a long way to go in the Confederations Cup."

Like La Roja, the Iraqis also raised many eyebrows after holding the home side to a goalless draw in the tournament opener in Johannesburg.

Asked about how he was going to prepare his team for the match against the world number one team, Iraq coach Bora Milutinovic responded: "That's a very easy answer. When you play against Spain, you don't need to have any preparation.

"You need to know against who you are playing. You need to know the opposition and you need to be happy to be playing one of the most important teams in world football. You need to put in your best effort and say 'okay, we are going to play football'."

The Serb was thrilled with the way his side performed against the hosts, saying that the point gained was now a big boost to their semi-final chances.

"The point is very important," he said. "Our goal is to try to win every game and even though we did not win against South Africa, we still gained a positive result.

"It gives us a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals."

April 2010 News