Del Bosque pairs Pedro and Diego Costa in attack - Double trouble

Vicente del Bosque took charge of a double training session during his second day in Washington, with a high intensity evening session where he tried out a range of tactics with different combinations of players.

The evening included an intense hour and ten minutes of training, where the Spanish manager first covered the players' physical condition before focusing on their skills with small-scale games, divided into three teams.

He concluded the session by bringing all the players together for a final test in preparation for Saturday's friendly against El Slavador. He selected Azpilicueta, Piqué, Martínez, Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Cazorla, Iniesta, Pedro and Costa together in the same team.

The Pedro-Costa pairing is sure to cause a stir in Brazil. The two players are continuing to develop their understanding on the pitch, and they are the two most direct players in the team.

The session confirmed that Diego Costa in fine form, having worked for a third consecutive day at the same intensity as his teammates, having apparently recovered from his muscular strain. He ends the sessions exhausted but there's no sign that he's nursing any problems in the area that was affected.

The day drew to a close with some players involved in a fun penalty competition, which the assistant manager Toni Grande unsuccessfully tried to stop several times. Reina and Ramos eventually beat De Gea and Mata, following a long competition that included a 'Panenka' penalty from Ramos and all kinds of crazy celebrations before the victors eventually mocked the losers, giving them their training shirts as a gift.