Spain shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro knows just what is at stake in his side's EuroBasket quarter-final clash with Croatia on Friday.

Spain know victory will not only give them the chance to win a European medal, but will also guarantee them an automatic place in next year's FIBA World Championships in Japan.

With Pau Gasol spending the championships behind a TV microphone as he recovers from a foot injury, it has been the moment for both Navarro and Jorge Garbajosa to grab the limelight and both have done so with good effect.

Garbajosa is averaging 19 points a game, while Navarro is the competition's second highest scorer with an average of 23.7 points.

"Maybe I have been in the background more at Barcelona, but I have always felt important for the national team, although I have never given as many interviews as recently," joked Navarro.

"This was always going to be a very even competition and so far that is what we have seen."

"We have fulfilled one objective and now we know that we have everything to play for in a vital game. If we win then we are capable of doing anything, but this is the vital match," he said.

Spain have been inconsistent so far and although they won their group to leap straight into the quarter-finals, they have produced three different performances.

First of all they were magnificent against a disappointing Serbia & Montenegro outfit, before then needing overtime to dispose of Latvia.

Finally, they lost to Israel to leave questions about their true abilities still unanswered.

"We have to play with the mentality we showed on the first day against Serbia. The key is to impose our pace on the game, because we let Israel do what they wanted to," said Navarro.

"Croatia are very complicated and I know their defence will be keeping an eye on both myself and Jorge (Garbajosa). We will have to watch all of them." he concluded.