In accordance with FIFA requirements, Vicente Del Bosque named a preliminary squad of 30 players for the upcoming World Cup, the group theoretically forming the basis for the final squad of 23. As expected Manchester United’s David De Gea replaces the injured Víctor Valdés, and two other uncapped players are included, Real Madrid’s Carvajal and Athletic Bilbao’s Iturraspe. There is no place though for Madrid’s Arbeloa, an ever present in the last three Euro and World Cup squads, nor for the likes of Isco, Iñigo Martínez, Monreal, Mario Suárez, Javi García, Michu or Soldado, all of whom have featured in call-ups over the last 12 months or so. Del Bosque will name his final list on 25 th May, the day after the Champions League final, and the team will play friendlies against Bolivia (in Sevilla) and El Salvador (in Washington, USA) before the competition starts in mid-June. (13.05.14)
Full squad:
Keepers: De Gea (Manchester United), Reina (Napoli), Casillas (Real Madrid);
Defenders: Juanfran (Atlético Madrid), Jordi Alba and Piqué (Barcelona), Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Javi Martínez (Bayern Munich), Raúl Albiol (Napoli), Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Alberto Moreno (Sevilla);
Midfielders: Cazorla (Arsenal), Iturraspe (Athletic Bilbao), Koke (Atlético Madrid), Busquets, Fàbregas, Iniesta and Xavi (Barcelona), Thiago (Bayern Munich), Jesús Navas and David Silva (Manchester City), Mata (Manchester United), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid);
Forwards: Diego Costa and David Villa (Atlético Madrid), Pedro (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Llorente (Juventus), Negredo (Manchester City).