Spain news: Santi Cazorla expresses joy at being able to fulfil his dream in Spain's victory over Faroe Islands

What's the story?

Santi Cazorla played his first start for Spain in over 1,500 days. When Madrid captain Sergio Ramos left, Cazorla took over the captain's armband and the midfielder couldn't have been even happier that his dream was fulfilled.

In case you didn't know...

The former Arsenal man struggled to recover from an ankle injury which almost left him unable to walk. His recovery this season has been miraculous and he has gone on to make 35 La Liga appearances for Villarreal.

His excellent performances earned him a call-up to the Spain national team. In the Euro Qualifiers against Faroe Islands, Spain beat them by a scoreline of 4-1. The 34-year-old captained his side in the second-half of the game.

The heart of the matter

After the game, Cazorla elaborated on his delight to receive the chance to captain the national team. Spain were leading 2-0 in the game when their opponents pulled one back. The midfielder admitted that at that point, he was a little worried about the result of the match. Fortunately, their opponent scored an own goal before José Luis Gayà netted to seal victory for La Roja.

The midfielder praised his team-mates by saying,

"It was easy to play with these players again."

"They make it so easy to play my game. I am so happy to be back with the national team."

Besides that Cazorla added on by commenting that he had fulfilled his dream of putting on the captain's armband, but it was equally important for his side to win.

“Wearing the armband is another dream fulfilled for me.”

“I’m enjoying this a lot but the important thing is for me to help the team."

“The important thing was to win."

"Games like this … these opponents can seem easy, but they are not."

"We had to stay focused after the scare of their goal and that got the win in the end."

What's next?

Spain will face Sweden in the next qualifier and then Romania.