Tuesday, 19th November, 2013
Fernando Llorente admits Diego Costa's presence has made life tough for Spain's other forwards, but believes he would not have switched nationalities if the roles had been reversed.
Costa missed out on making his Spain debut against Equatorial Guinea after pulling out through injury, but is a near-certain for the World Cup squad thanks to some superb displays for Atletico Madrid.
Llorente, on the other hand, is working his way back to Vicente del Bosque's plans after replacing Costa for the friendly.
Costa's allegiance switch has not been without its various wars of words, and Llorente told AS: "Had I been in the same position as Costa, I would have chosen to represent the country of my birth.
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"But everyone is entitled to do whatever they want to do. I am not upset that Diego Costa has chosen to play for Spain.
"Any player would want to play for the Spanish national team. To be honest, I was not surprised."
Costa has already struck 13 goals for Atletico in as many La Liga games. He is second only to Cristiano Ronaldo (16) and is ahead of Lionel Messi by five goals in the league's goalscoring list.
Juventus forward Llorente welcomed the national competition, adding: "Diego spent many seasons in Spain, and seeing how our squad is playing, everyone wants to play for Spain.
"Diego had an incredible start to the season, and the fact that he has chosen to play for Spain puts all the attackers on high alert. Now it is much more difficult to get a spot in the national team."
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