Vicente Del Bosque Brazil World Cup squad
Sunday, June 1, 2014 @ 6:31 PM
The inclusion of Diego Costa and Juanfran Torres amongst the 23 players chosen to defend Spain's World Cup title in Brazil was biggest news when Vicente Del Bosque named his definitive squad yesterday, with the exclusion of Jesús Navas perhaps the most painful of all.
Seven players were dropped from the initial 'long list' of 30 players named by the Spain coach: Dani Carvajal, Alberto Moreno, Ander Iturraspe, Thiago Alcántara, Jesús Navas, Álvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente.
Del Bosque waited until the last minute to get the latest medical reports on Juanfran Torres, who suffered an ankle sprain in the Champions League final, and Diego Costa, who had suffered a small muscle tear in his right leg. The recovery of the two Atlético de Madrid players was ultimately considered positive and they made the short list.
Seven players who won the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 will not be defending the title in Brazil: Víctor Valdés and Jesús Navas because of injury, along with Álvaro Arbeloa, Carlos Marchena, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila and Fernando Llorente. For the second time in a row Álvaro Negredo failed to make Del Bosque's World Cup short list.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com