Spain names 30-man provisional World Cup squad
The defending world and two-time European champions are the latest team to reveal their provisional squad ahead of next month's World Cup, as Spain named the 30 players in contention for a spot on the final roster Tuesday.
Manager Vicente del Bosque will have plenty of familiar faces to select from when he whittles this group down to 23 on May 25, as the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Ramos all predictably made the grade.
While much of the squad will pick itself, there will be some intrigue as to which collection of forwards Del Bosque decides to run with at the tournament. With Brazilian-born Atletico Madrid star Diego Costa all but assured of a roster spot, it is more than likely that two of David Villa, Alvaro Negredo, Fernando Llorente and Fernando Torres will be left disappointed.
At the very least, that contingent of attackers can take solace in the fact that they were included on the provisional list, which is more than can be said for Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado.
There will also be at least one interesting decision in midfield:
Mata v Cazorla really tight - reckon Mata's poor showing in Confed Cup / Cazorla's greater reliability could swing it.
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) May 13, 2014
Notable omissions include Real Madrid midfielder Isco, as well as Alvaro Arbeloa, whose extended absence as a result of a knee injury has opened the door for teammate Dani Carvajal.
The diminutive defender, who is joined on the list by fellow uncapped players David de Gea and Ander Iturraspe, has arguably been the best right-back in La Liga this season, highlighting just how frighteningly deep this Spanish team is.
Here's the full squad:
Goalkeepers
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli), David de Gea (Manchester United)
Defenders
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Alberto Moreno (Sevilla)
Midfielders
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Ander Iturraspe (Athletic Bilbao), David Silva (Manchester City), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Tiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Juan Mata (Manchester United)
Forwards
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Negredo (Manchester City), Jesus Navas (Manchester City), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Juventus), Fernando Torres (Chelsea)
Spain find themselves in Group B alongside the Netherlands, Chile and Australia.
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