LEIPZIG, Germany _ Dropping a captain is always hard. When he's your country's all-time leading scorer and it's at a World Cup, it's almost unthinkable.

Spain's captain Raul plays with a ball during a soccer training session at Spain's World Cup training base in Kamen June 10, 2006. [Reuters]

Yet Spain coach Luis Aragones all but confirmed Tuesday what had been obvious from Spain's training sessions this week: Raul Gonzalez will start on the bench in Wednesday's Group H opener against Ukraine.

"I'm the one who decides, and I think right now that 90 minutes would be hard for him," Aragones said.

Raul, in his third World Cup, is coming off one of his worst seasons at Real Madrid. He struggled since injuring a knee in November and did not score for seven months until a June 3 friendly against Egypt.

The striker has been training with the substitutes at Spain's World Cup camp in Kamen, while Aragones drilled an three-man attack of David Villa, Fernando Torres and Luis Garcia.

"The coach believes there are others who can do a good job against Ukraine, and it's no problem," Raul said. "We are 23 players on the team and we all want play. The coach has selected an 11 for the first game and I think we will all have other opportunities to play in the World Cup."

Defender Carles Puyol suggested too much attention was being given to Raul's role in the squad.

"We are all important," the FC Barcelona central defender said. "The most important thing is the team and not a single player."

Raul, who turns 29 on June 27, made his international debut as 19-year-old in a World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic 1996. He has scored 43 goals for "La Seleccion" since then.

A national hero, Raul has won the Spanish League four times and the Champion's League three times with Real Madrid.

If he starts on the bench against Ukraine, Raul would hand the captain's armband to goalkeeper Iker Casillas.