Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has dismissed suggestions that Diego Costa is unsuited to his team's style of play.
The Chelsea striker has only scored once since pledging his international career to La Roja and has come under fire for his performances.
Costa has also endured a poor start to the season at club level, scoring just three goals in 14 appearances for the beleaguered Premier League champions.
Del Bosque, however, has hit out at suggestions that Costa is harming the Spain team and insists he remains an important striker for the future, along with Juventus' Alvaro Morata and Paco Alcacer of Valencia.
"Costa isn't a problem for us," he told The Guardian.
"Our midfield is good on the ball, with players whose touch is good, so we need forwards who create space, who move, who commit defenders, occupy them, and Diego does that. How can Costa be harmful for us?
"We have him so he can get in behind, run channels, pull wide. We've not had much luck with him but there's nothing that goes against our style. Now we're choosing between him, Morata and Paco Alcacer; in principle those are the three for the future."
Spain host England in Alicante on Friday before taking on current world number one side Belgium next Tuesday.
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