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          David De Gea should replace Iker Casillas as Spain's No. 1 - Marca poll

          • ESPN staffOct 10, 2014, 10:13 AM ET

          David De Gea should replace Iker Casillas as Spain's No. 1 goalkeeper, according to a poll conducted by Marca.

          Casillas, 33, who made his 158th appearance for La Roja in Thursday's 2-1 European Championship qualifying defeat to Slovakia, was culpable for Juraj Kucka's opener as he misjudged the flight of the ball before punching into his own net.

          The Real Madrid goalkeeper has come under heavy criticism in recent months and question marks were raised over both his international and club future after a number of high-profile errors at the World Cup and in the Champions League final.

          In response to Marca's question: "Has the moment arrived for De Gea to be the No. 1?" 83 percent of participants voted "yes."

          Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea has made only two appearances for Spain to date, earning his debut as a late substitute in the 2-0 friendly win over El Salvador back in June, before then playing the full 90 minutes of La Roja's 1-0 defeat to France last month.

          However, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has seemingly given his long-serving captain the vote of confidence, defending Casillas after Wednesday's defeat.

          "Casillas had saved a good chance from Slovakia in the previous move," he said.

          "I could not see clearly from the bench, but the ball seemed to move strangely in the air and Iker was deceived."

          A poll conducted by AS also asked readers to select their starting XI for Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier against Luxembourg, with De Gea once again dominating Casillas in the results.

          Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal was also preferred to Atletico right-back Juanfran while Valencia striker Paco Alcacer, who scored Spain's solitary goal against Slovakia, received over double the votes of Chelsea's Diego Costa, who is yet to find the net in six La Roja appearances.

          Casillas' performance also dominated the back pages of Spain's newspapers, with the media claiming that Del Bosque's side had not yet recovered from their World Cup slump.