Hanover: Spain captain Raul Gonalez hopes to celebrate his 29th birthday on June 27 by knocking France out of the World Cup and ending the career of former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane.
Coach Luis Aragones hinted that Raul, who was relegated to the bench in the group stage, will play at least one half against 'Les Bleus' in the second-round clash in Hanover.
"Hopefully this will be his last match," Raul said about Zidane, who will retire after the World Cup.
"Zidane is a great player who has said farewell to his last club. And he is playing his last matches in this World Cup in Germany. Hopefully, for the good of Spain, the one tomorrow will be his last match."
Spain won Group H with three straight wins while France clinched second place in Group G with a 2-0 win over Togo, following draws with Switzerland and South Korea.
Raul warned that the French had yet to play their best in the tournament.
"In those matches, they did not play at their highest level, but with the players they have, they can do a great match at any moment," said Raul, who is Spain's all-time top scorer with 44 goals.
While Spain's squad is young and inexperienced on he international stage, many of the France players who won the 198 World Cup and European championship two years later are still on the team.
"They have been world champions and European champions, and we have not done anything," Raul said. "We want to be like them. I think the ambition and spirit that we have will be to our advantage."
Spain has never finished better than fourth in 11 World Cup appearances.
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