WITH DIEGO COSTA still nursing an injured hamstring, Fernando Torres and David Villa have both been included in Spain’s final 23-man World Cup squad.
The Brazilian-born Atletico Madrid striker has battled an ongoing hamstring problem that limited him to just nine minutes in the Champions League final defeat to Real, a week after he was forced off 15 minutes into his side’s La Liga title decider with Barcelona.
Unsurprisingly, he did not feature in the reigning World champions’ 2-0 win over Bolivia on Friday.
Manager Vicente Del Bosque opted for the 20o plus caps of Torres and Villa ahead of attacking threat posed by Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente while midfielder Ander Iturraspe, and defenders Alberto Moreno and Dani Carvajal have also missed out on his squad; the six having been named in his initial 30-man list.
Spain face Chile, the Netherlands and Australia in World Cup Group B. Their first match pits them on June 13 against the Netherlands — their opponents in their 2010 World Cup final triumph.
Spain’s World Cup squad is as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Manuel Reina (Napoli), David De Gea (Manchester United)
DEFENDERS: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Juanfran Torres (Atletico Madrid)
MIDFIELDERS: Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City), Koke Resurreccion (Atletico Madrid), Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal), Juan Mata (Manchester United)
FORWARDS: Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea)
Additional reporting from AFP.
