Spain have announced their 25 man provisional squad for Euro 2016 and Vicente Del Bosque has plenty of surprises in his squad tasked with defending their Euro 2012 crown.
Diego Costa and Juan Mata are two of the biggest shock omissions after being left out of the squad along with fellow Premier League star Santi Cazorla.
Spain’s top scorer in qualifying was Paco Alcacer with five goals, but the Valencia man has also been axed from the squad as Los Rojas name three strikers with Morata, Nolito and 35-year old Aritz Aduriz getting the nod.
Fernando Torres’ recent return to form was also not enough to get a Spain recall as Juventus’ Alvaro Morata looks set to lead the line at Euro 2016 alongside the uncapped Saul Niguez and Lucas Vasquez.
Chelsea trio Cesar Azpilicueta, Pedro and Cesc Fabregas are among five Premier League players in the squad and have all been included alongside Manchester City’s David Silva, who returns following his comeback from injury and Manchester United’s David De Gea who is set to be Spain’s number one this summer.
At first glance at the Spanish squad, there appears to be a distinct lack of international experience as Del Bosque opts to go for a fresh and youthful approach in France with call-ups for Barcelona’s Marc Bartra and Villarreal’s Bruno.
In previous years Spain have relied on the experience of Carlos Puyol, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres. However, all have been left out and Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets will be Spain’s reliable duo in midfield.
Barcelona and Real Madrid players make up nine places in the 25-man squad, with the Barca contingent including; Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Marc Bartra, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta. Real Madrid have four players included with Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal, Isco and Lucas Vazquez
Despite plenty of big names missing out there is no doubt that Spain still have plenty of quality in the team and are still one of the favourites to win the competition for a third time in a row. Spain will cut their squad down to 23 players at the end of the month to decide who makes the travelling squad to France in June.
Spain begin their defence in Group D with Croatia, Turkey and Czech Republic. Football Ticket Pad have Spain tickets available for all of their matches at Euro 2016 matches.
Football Ticket Pad is a leading online ticketing platform which is safe, simple and secure. Ticket Pad is the only ticketing website with a five star rating for customer service and satisfaction.
The Spain squad in full is as follows:
Goalkeepers:
Iker Casillas - FC Porto
David De Gea - Manchester United FC
Sergio Rico - Sevilla FC
Defenders:
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid CF
Gerard Pique - FC Barcelona
Dani Carvajal - Real Madrid CF
Jordi Alba - FC Barcelona
Marc Bartra - FC Barcelona
Cesar Azpilicueta - Chelsea FC
Mikel San Jose - Athletic Bilbao
Midfielders:
Juanfran - Atletico Madrid
Bruno Soriano - Villarreal CF
Sergio Busquets - FC Barcelona
Koke - Atletico Madrid
Thiago Alcantara - FC Bayern Munich
Andres Iniesta - FC Barcelona
Isco - Real Madrid CF
David Silva - Manchester City FC
Pedro - Chelsea FC
Cesc Fabregas - Chelsea FC
Saul Niguez - Atletico Madrid
Lucas Vazquez - Real Madrid CF
Forwards:
Alvaro Morata - Juventus FC
Nolito - Celta Vigo
Aritz Aduriz - Athletic Bilbao