MOSCOW -- David Silva believes that facing Russia in the round of 16 of the World Cup will be just as difficult for Spain as coming up against Brazil.
Spain play the hosts at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday after winning their group, but thanks to results elsewhere in the tournament they find themselves in the "easy" half of the draw.
However, Silva does not think their path through the tournament is any less difficult.
"I think in the World Cup any opponent is tough," he said. "We saw this in our group. I'm sure Russia will be as difficult as playing against Brazil."
Spain have received some criticism for their performances at the tournament so far, as while they won Group A, they rarely played at their best and only won one game, a 1-0 victory over Iran.
But Silva said the squad are trying not to pay attention to such talk.
"A lot has already been said about criticism," the midfielder said. "We have to play to change people's opinions. Criticism is sometimes not deserved but we are used to it.
"We played some good games. But we need to be aware that there are two teams on the pitch. It was a very tough group.
"We need to minimise our mistakes. If we start handing out goals to the opposition, it will be difficult. The smallest mistake will send you back home."
Russia are expected to be a slightly different proposition to some of the games Spain have played. As hosts, the expectation will be on them to attack more, and not defend deep as some sides have done against the 2010 champions.
"I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know what will happen," said head coach Fernando Hierro, when asked about how their opposition will approach the game. "It will be a tough match. We can't second guess what their coach might plan to do. Maybe they'll change their system, maybe they won't. I can't get into the mind of their coach.
"We have a clear plan in mind, we know what Russia represents and their qualities. We have a lot of faith in our players, we know what they can do. We want to be positive and we're going to be positive. We shouldn't fear the unknown. We have trust in our group, and our players.
"We need to minimise our mistakes, we need to be intelligent. We've had to face difficult situations, and we have been losing matches, so we've proven we can react to these uphill battles. We know we can deal with these situations."