Madrid  - The Spanish football federation announced late on Tuesday that national manager Vicente del Bosque had decided to call up Alvaro Negredo of Sevilla to replace injured Valencia striker David Villa.

Villa, 28, will miss Spain's final World Cup qualifying matches, against Armenia and Bosnia because of a torn muscle in his right thigh.

Del Bosque has opted for Negredo, 24, because of the good start that he has made at Sevilla since joining from Almeria in August.

This the first international call-up for the tall and powerful Negredo, who started his career at Rayo Vallecano before joining Real Madrid in 2005 and Almeria in 2007.

Spain have already qualified for the World Cup finals, and it will be their ninth consecutive appearance at a World Cup, a record bettered only by Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany.  dpa