The News Minute| June 21, 2014| 8.25 pm IST

Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso is all set to announce his retirement from international football, this just after Spain’s elimination from the FIFA World Cup.

The32-year-old planned this move for some time and the decision was not a “knee-jerk reaction to the event in Brazil. Far from it, he had long known that summer 2014 would mark the end of his international career", reports EFE.

Alonso has been playing for Spain’s first team since 2003. By scoring 16 goals in 112 matches, he helped the team to win two European Championships in 2008 and 2012 and the 2010 World Cup. 

The Real Madrid player will get the chance to rest as he had been having fitness issues over the last two years. The veteran drew criticism when he admitted that Spain had lost their way following their World Cup knock out.

"We couldn't maintain that hunger, that ambition. We weren't mentally prepared or physically fit enough,” he said after Spain got eliminated from the World Cup. 

His final international match as part of Vicente Del Bosque's squad will come on Monday, when Spain take on Australia.