Raul was once invariably the first name on Spain's team sheet but now his Real Madrid [Images] team mate Iker Casillas is the country's most influential player.

The goalkeeper has already had seven seasons in Real's first team and is preparing for his fourth major international tournament, even though he has only just turned 25.

He is practically the only top player at Real to have escaped criticism over the past three seasons and has, almost single-handedly, held the nine-times European champions together when they have threatened to collapse.

A product of the club's youth set-up, Casillas burst into the Real first team in 1999 aged 18 after an injury to Bodo Illgner.

He was then given a fast-track promotion to the national side, earning a call-up for Euro 2000, although he did not win his first cap until a friendly with Sweden the next season.

Casillas was the hero of Real's European Cup win in 2002 when he came off the bench to produce three exceptional saves to preserve his side's 2-1 advantage over Bayer Leverkusen.

A few days later a freak accident to Valencia keeper Santiago Canizares, who dropped an aftershave bottle on his foot, made Casillas Spain's first choice at the 2002 World Cup.

He kept the team alive in a penalty shootout win over Ireland but was unable to perform similar heroics against South Korea in the quarter-finals.

Casillas left the tournament as Spain's number one keeper and has remained so ever since.

A genuine world-class player, he has a gift for spectacular reflex saves and a reputation for being almost impossible to beat in one-on-one situations.

Despite occasional lapses dealing with high balls, he remains Spain's most consistent performer and is the player most likely to make a difference if they progress beyond the group phase.