MADRID, Aug 29 - Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas said he feels a healthy jealousy for his counterparts in the country's basketball team after they qualified for the semi-finals of the world championship in Japan on Tuesday.

"They are having a great world championship and we all hope and believe that they can reach the final," he told a news conference in Madrid as Spain prepare for their Euro 2008 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Northern Ireland.

"We are happy and proud of what the basketball team are doing and of course we are envious too. I wish we could get as far as them.

"It is a different sport and there are a lot of differences and we have to learn from the mistakes we made at the last World Cup."

Spain's basketball team beat Lithuania 89-67 on Tuesday to reach the last four for the first time since 1982 and earn themselves a semi-final showdown against Olympic champions Argentina.

The national soccer team have only once reached the same stage in a World Cup, back in 1950, and were put out of this year's tournament by France in the first knockout round.

Casillas said the team needed to erase the memories of their failure in Germany with some convincing performances in their Group F matches against Liechtenstein and Northern Ireland.

"It's not surprising the fans were disappointed in us, but we hope that with time they will get behind us again," he said.

"We are playing two of the weaker teams in the group and we have to come away with six points from these two matches.

"If we do that it will help boost our morale ahead of the big games against Sweden and Denmark."

Spain are at home to Liechtenstein on Saturday and meet Northern Ireland in Belfast the following Wednesday.