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Costa, Torres, Mata omitted from Spain's provisional Euro 2016 squad

Reuters

Defending European champion Spain will be without a quartet of familiar faces when it arrives in France for Euro 2016 this summer, as the 25-man provisional squad named by manager Vicente del Bosque on Tuesday included a host of notable omissions.

Chief among them is Chelsea striker Diego Costa, whose miserable, suspension-riddled season with the Blues has seen him left at home for the upcoming competition. He is joined by Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Santi Cazorla, and Paco Alcacer as those who will feel most aggrieved about their respective snubs.

The Brazilian-born Costa, 27, opted to represent La Furia Roja ahead of the 2014 World Cup, but has seen his time with the national team blighted by a combination of injuries and and the aforementioned disciplinary issues at the club level. In 10 matches with Spain, the snarling striker has found the net just once.

"We have weighed everything up," Del Bosque said of his decision not to call up Costa. "We do not want to call up too many people with doubts over their fitness. We have [David] Silva and Lucas Vazquez with doubts. I did not speak with anyone, as you never know where to put a limit on how many you should call."

Speaking of the other notable absentees, Del Bosque admitted there would inevitably be marquee players left off the squad given the depth of talent at his disposal.

"Many people had chances, there were doubts over many of the calls, but we made the decisions we thought best. There is lot of competition - we can't bring them all. We make decisions based on football merit. We just bring those we think will be most useful for us."

The full 25-man provision squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto), David De Gea (Manchester United), Sergio Rico (Sevilla)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Marc Bartra (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Bruno Soriano (Villarreal), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Isco (Real Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City), Pedro Rodriguez (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Nolito (Celta Vigo), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid)

Spain, which will play three warm-up friendlies before the tournament begins, is slotted in Group D, and will open the defense of its 2012 crown with a contest against the Czech Republic on June 13.

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