Spain determined not to be caught napping

KAMEN, Germany, June 10 (Reuters) Siesta-loving Spanish players have changed their eating and sleeping habits in preparation for an afternoon kickoff in their World Cup opener against Ukraine, forward Luis Garcia said today.

''At the start it can be strange eating a plate of pasta at 11 in the morning, but with a few days to adjust you can do it,'' the player told a news conference.

''But obviously for some players it can be difficult because three in the afternoon is normally siesta time for most of them.'' Most Spanish league games are played in the evening and never kick off earlier than 5 p.m., although the five members of the squad who like Luis Garcia play in England are accustomed to afternoon matches.

The team will switch their training sessions to 3 p.m. (1830 hrs IST) tomorrow and Monday in order to become accustomed to the kick off time against Ukraine, team doctor Genaro Borras said.

Borras said that as of tomorrow the team would be getting up earlier and eating lunch at around 11 a.m.

''Right now the players aren't ready to be at their peak at three in the afternoon, so that's why we are going to be changing their habits,'' he told reporters.

The team continued its preparations for Wednesday's match against Ukraine with plenty of ball work on a sweltering day in front of a weekend crowd of around 500 people at their training base in the Kaisersau Sportschule in Kamen.

Coach Luis Aragones has played his cards close to his chest about the starting line-up against Ukraine although the Spanish media have speculated that skipper Raul and striker David Villa may start on the bench.

But Luis Garcia said that the formation in training did not necessarily reflect what would happen in the Ukraine match.

''The boss keeps changing things and trying things out, so just because he does something in training doesn't mean he will so it in the game,'' he said.

''The fact that there is no clear starting line up means that you have to be at 100 percent all the time and you can never afford to relax.'' REUTERS PDS PM1904