Juan Mata remains determined to again force his way into the Spain national team.
The Manchester United midfielder, 26, has not played for la Furia Roja since the 3-0 World Cup group stage win over Australia in Brazil in July.
Mata has 34 caps and 10 international goals to his name but is not yet satisfied with his international career despite being involved with some successful Spanish squads in recent years.
"As I always say, I have been very lucky to play and to win a World Cup and a European Championship, to participate in the most important competitions, but I'm still excited as the first day," he wrote on his personal blog juanmata8.com.
"I am convinced that I'm in a perfect age in my football career and I look forward to keep contributing and achieving more success with my national team.
"That's what I work for every day, training and playing to the maximum, trying to do the best I can.
"After that, obviously, the manager is the one who picks the players for every game. So now I take these quiet days to keep working, as I said, but I also switch off and rest a bit."
