HE’S STILL OUR NUMBER JUAN

Blunder keeper De Gea backed by Spain pals to regain top form & keep Russia at bay

DAVID DE GEA has been backed by his manager and Spain team-mates after coming under fire for his World Cup displays.

Boss Fernando Hierro insists he will stick with the Manchester United keeper for La Roja’s last-16 tie against hosts Russia tomorrow.

And midfielder Thiago labelled De Gea “brilliant” and claimed the Spain side have complete faith in their No.1.

While De Gea, 27, has developed into a shot-stopper who has become so consistent for United that he is now widely considered the world’s best, he has been less certain for Spain.

A mistake in their warm-up draw against Switzerland was followed by another in their Group B opener against Portugal. De Gea kept a clean sheet in Spain’s 1-0 win over Iran, but did not make his first save until their final group game against Morocco.

His form had prompted suggestions he would be dropped and replaced by Kepa, but Hierro said: “De Gea will play. A change in goal hasn’t crossed my mind.”

Thiago said: “The goalkeeping position is perhaps the hardest of all – the risk levels are very high.

“If you have seen David over the past few seasons, you’ll know he is a brilliant keeper. He has saved us many times, but that never gets written about.

“He was the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, he works like an animal and his confidence is huge. We have complete faith not just in David but in our other two goalkeepers as well.”

Spain topped Group B to earn a place in the so-called easier side of the knockout stages. And if they beat Russia, the 2010 winners will face Croatia or Denmark in the quarter-finals and could meet England in the semis in Moscow.

Thiago added: “We don’t look at the possibilities of who we could meet and when, and we certainly don’t talk about easy routes or games.

“We will be playing against Russia and thousands of home fans. All that counts is what we do out on the pitch.”

ON HIS KNEES De Gea has had a poor World Cup and made a huge error in opening game against Portugal