Raul set for Spain recall

Madrid:

Spain will recall captain Raul Gonzalez to its starting lineup for this weekend's World Cup warm-up against Egypt, news reports said on Thursday. Raul, the national team's all-time leading scorer with 42 goals in 93 games, hasn't started in Spain's last two matches. The last time he did was on November 16 in the second leg of the World Cup qualifying playoff against Slovakia. Spain coach Luis Aragones will play Raul just behind strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa in Saturday's match in Elche, sports daily Marca said. Liverpool's Luis Garcia will reportedly be dropped. The Real Madrid striker, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Spain's 0-0 draw with Russia last Saturday, hasn't scored since October 26 - although a serious knee injury did sideline him for three months. Raul, who debuted for the national team at the age of 19, has helped Madrid win three Champions Leagues and four Spanish league titles, but his goal tally has fallen each season since Madrid last won a trophy in 2002-03. Spain, which plays Croatia on June 7 in its last warm-up match before the tournament, kicks off on June 14 against Ukraine in Group H. It also plays Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. (AP)