Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes his team may finally be ready to shake off their 'underachievers' tag after a successful start to their World Cup campaign.

Spain are one of just four teams to have won all three of their World Cup games so far, while the squad is full of stars who play in the most competitive leagues in the world, including the domestic Primera Liga.

Fabregas himself plays for English side Arsenal, but is on the verge of stardom after his dynamic performances helped the Gunners reach the Champions League final last season.

And, much to the relief of coach Luis Aragones, Fabregas will be available to play against France in their last-16 clash next week after avoiding a second booking in Spain's 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Friday.

"I am happy that I can play in the next game," Fabregas said.

"I had to be careful, I couldn't make certain tackles or fall on the pitch as a precaution to avoid getting a yellow card.

"I think I wasn't able to play my game because it affected my performance.

"But the important thing is that we have won and now we can turn our attention to our second-round clash."

Fabregas was not in the starting line-up for Spain's first two wins over Ukraine and Tunisia, but he was the inspiration in their 3-1 triumph over the Africans after coming off the bench at the beginning of the second half.

And the Arsenal star is confident his team-mates can keep that success going when they face the French in Hanover on Tuesday.

"I hope that I continue to have playing time," said the 19-year-old.

"As long as we keep the same mentality we can go all the way in this tournament.

"We can go as far as we want to."

Aragones would have expected to come up against either Switzerland or South Korea - the side that beat them in the quarter-finals at the last World Cup - in the knockout stages, but Les Bleus were the slightly-surprising runners-up in Group G.

Their squad is also loaded with talent and it promises to be a very difficult game for both sides, according to the Spain coach.

"France have a great team," said Aragones.

"I think whoever controls possession in that game will end up winning and I believe we are superior to France in this."