Raul Laments Exit

Spain captain Raul was devastated following his team's exit from the World Cup in the second round after a 3-1 defeat to France.

Spain had taken a 28th-minute lead with David Villa converting from the penalty spot before the French hit back with Franck Ribery equalising before half-time.

Late second-half goals from Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane sunk Spain and guided the 1998 champions into the last eight.

"Today the real World Cup began and it has been a big disappointment for us," said Raul, who had hoped to celebrate his 29th birthday with a place in the quarter finals with Brazil.

Spain has never progressed past the quarter-final stages in this tournament but having won all their group games in convincing fashion, netting eight goals and only conceding once, they really believed this could be their year.

"It's always the same," said Raul.

"In the moment of truth we fail to deliver, we don't prove our worth.

"The fact is that our fantastic start served for nothing because the important thing was to win tonight."

Real Madrid striker Raul praised their rivals, who were considered the underdogs having only scraped through their group.

Raymond Domenech's men had drawn with Switzerland and South Korea before defeating Togo to finish second in Group G.

"We faced a great French team tonight," said Raul.

"They have used their experience to good use and have played at a high level.

"They have proved tonight that this team is by no means dead but they are alive and well.

"I wish them the best of luck."

Raul had been an uncertainty going into the tournament having sustained a serious injury earlier this year.

Luis Aragones' decision to included him in the squad for Germany had been given a mixed reception, with the Madrid captain having struggled to make an impact this season.

He did score the equaliser against Tunisia to inspire Spain to a 3-1 triumph in their second group game.

Despite the setback, Raul is determined to bounce back.

"I want to continue to play for the national team," he said.

"I hope that I will be called up by this coach or whoever takes over.

"That is my intention and what happened tonight doesn't change this."

Bottle crashed says Raul

But the champagne stayed corked as Spain, who rattled eight goals in the group stage, headed for the exit. "It's always the same," said Raul. "In the moment of truth we fail to deliver, we don't prove our worth. Our fantastic start served for nothing because the important thing was to win tonight."
Raul insists he will still play for Spain, despite losing to France. He added: "That is my intention and what happened tonight doesn't change this."

Raul aims to have last word at finals

Raul's usual goal celebration involves a brief kiss of his wedding ring but this time he careered off to the corner packed with Spanish fans, punched his chest and pointed to the crest on his red shirt.

Moments later the Spain captain was enveloped by every player on his team bar the goalkeeper. It was only the second time he had scored since October.

The goal, a trademark poacher's effort netted on the rebound, cancelled out Tunisia's early lead and restored the confidence of a side running out of ideas about how to break down the North Africans's muscular back four.

Spain proceeded to tear into the Tunisian defence and ran out 3-1 winners courtesy of two late Fernando Torres strikes.

It should not have come as a surprise, but it says much about the predicament of a player who has for so long been the talisman of the Spain team that a single goal meant so much.

Three years ago Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson hailed the Real Madrid striker as the finest player in the world after he scored twice during a 3-1 victory in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabeu.

"Real buy these big players like Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo but I think the best player in the world is Raul," he said. "I hope he doesn't like travelling. Failing that we will stop him entering the country."

ACUTE APPENDICITIS

Ironically, a case of acute appendicitis ruled the Spaniard out of the return leg and since then Raul's career has taken a downward turn.

He scored 16 league goals that season and another six in Europe, the following campaign he notched 11, then nine and this term he managed a paltry five.

Real have not won a trophy since 2003, Raul has become increasingly marginalised at the club as foreign galacticos like Ronaldo, David Beckham and Robinho hog the headlines and his form has dipped alarmingly.

Pushed further and further away from goal and expected to play more like a midfielder than a striker, Raul has lost his sharpness, his vision and his spontaneity.

He did beat Alfredo di Stefano's European Cup scoring record by totting up his 51st goal at the start of this season, but that mark was soon erased by Ukraine goal machine Andriy Shevchenko.

Still there was always the outlet of the national team, although even that was threatened by a serious knee injury in November as he miscued a shot during Real's humiliating 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu.

Instead of taking the more usual course of action and having an operation with the consequent risk missing the World Cup, Raul decided to opt for more conservative treatment in the hope of a rapid recovery.

INJURY GAMBLE

The gamble paid off as he returned to action a little over three months later, though his form did not. Spending much of the late season on the sidelines at Real, his place in the Spain side even came under question and a subject of national debate.

Although he only turnw 29 later this month his critics believe his career is in terminal decline.

It is not a question of age they say, but rather like a car -- friend and club colleague Fernando Hierro once likened him to a Ferrari -- the number of km accumulated by the engine.

Raul has been playing at an elite level for 12 seasons and has a medal collection, which includes three European Cups, four league titles and two World Club Cups, that would be the envy of most players when they end their careers.

He has twice been top scorer in the European Cup and Primera Liga, he is Spain's all-time top scorer with 44 goals in 97 games and their equal highest marksman at World Cups with five.

But his admirers, and Spain coach Luis Aragones is among them, believe he still has plenty to offer, not just as a player but also because of his importance in captaining the squad.

He has yet to win anything on the international stage for Spain and his goal against Tunisia proved that he still has the ability to decide matches.

"I'm not in as bad a condition as some would like to believe," Raul turned and mumbled to one reporter before the Tunisia match. The whole of Spain hopes he is right

Spain captain Raul Gonzalez hurt his right toe in practice Friday

The Real Madrid forward "hit the ball bad" in one of the training exercises, but was not seriously injured, team doctor Genaro Borras said.

Borras said Raul had some pain in his "first toe," without saying exactly which toe.

Moments earlier, Raul had walked off the field, carrying his soccer shoes, with no obvious signs of injury.

Now in his third World Cup, Raul is the Spain's all-time leading scorer. He saw a seven-month scoring drought end this year with a goal in the Spain's penultimate warmup against Egypt.

Raul scores as Spain beat Egypt

Spain defeated Egypt 2-0 in an international friendly on Saturdays, with goals from strikers Raul and Reyes.

Raul was visibly relieved when opening the score for the home side in the 14th minute. The Real Madrid forward had not scored for the national side since October and pressure was starting to mount.

Arsenal's José Antonio Reyes added a second goal in the 56th minute, and 2-0 would also be the final score in Elche, near the town of Alicante.

The African champions did manage to create some chances but goalkeeper Iker Casillas looked stable and kept a clean sheet.