Reigning Euro champions Spain have gone ahead and copied England by naming a 25-man provisional squad ahead of the tournament in France, one that will eventually be trimmed to 23 names. Although this is not yet Vicente Del Bosque’s official squad, his provisional side has officially ended a few high-profile players’ chances of making the continental competition, the biggest being Chelsea ace Diego Costa.
The Blues striker endured a roller coaster season at Stamford Bridge, but mounted an impressive goal scoring form towards the end of the 2015/16 campaign. Nonetheless, a hamstring injury saw the 27-year-old miss out on the last two games of the season.
Del Bosque later revealed the logic behind his reasoning, claiming he didn’t want to call up a squad burdened by unfit players, with Lucas Vazquez and David Silva (both in the squad) already being injured.
“We’ve evaluated all situations. In principle, we don’t want to be burdened with players who aren’t in the best physical shape. There are two who are injured, Lucas Vazquez and David Silva,” the World Cup-winning tactician told sefutbol.com (as per Football Espana).
OFICIAL | Lista provisional de 25 jugadores para la #EURO2016 / Provisional 25-man call up for the #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/wyMJ77Fyhe
— Selección Española (@SeFutbol) May 17, 2016
Diego Costa, however, was not the only Premier League ace to be excluded, with Man United’s Juan Mata, Arsenal trio Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, and rising starlet Hector Bellerin all left out, alongside Jesus Navas of Man City.
Del Bosque admitted his decision to leave out Mata was heartbreaking, saying: “It hurts to leave out [Mario Gaspar] and Mata but we had to make decisions. When we have doubts, we think of what will be the most practical.”
But the long-list of high profile names left out didn’t cease there, as there was no room for Atletico fan-favorite Fernando Torres, despite putting in an outstanding season to help Los Rojiblancos reach the Champions League final.
Others to miss out were Paco Alcacer (Valencia), Alvaro Negredo (Valencia), and Sevilla striker and former Juve ace Fernando Llorente.
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