Report: Xabi Alonso denies imminent retirement from international play

Spain's Xabi Alonso says rumors he'll retire from international play following Spain's third and final game at the World Cup are premature and overblown.

According to the Daily Mail, Alonso told a Spanish radio station he hasn't made any decision about his future and will only do so after taking time to contemplate his situation. 

"I'm still not at that moment, I want all this to end as soon as possible, go on holiday, disconnect a little and then decide things with time," Alonso is quoted as saying. "Right now is not the time."

Alsono also backtracked a little on comments about what he described as Spain's lack of "hunger" and "ambition he made after his squad's elimination.

"I'm not going to say what's happening in the dressing room, for me that should stay there," he said.

"The atmosphere and feeling in the dressing room is the same as it was two years ago," Alonso added, ignoring his previous comment about not talking about what's happening in the dressing room. 

"We know that we lacked intensity, but our enthusiasm has been the same as always. The hardest thing was (to repeat) what we have already done, which is to win three competitions in four years."