Torres, Costa, Mata left out of Spain squad

Sports Tuesday 17/May/2016 16:36 PM
By: Times News Service
Torres, Costa, Mata left out of Spain squad

Barcelona: Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a list of high-profile absentees for defending champions Spain when coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres also failed to make the cut despite showing his improved form towards the end of the season, as did Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, the top scorer in Spain's qualifying campaign.
"We didn't want to have an overload of players who were in an uncertain situation, we preferred not to bring them," Del Bosque told a news conference on Tuesday.
Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Also missing from the squad were Barcelona's Sergi Roberto and Villarreal's Mario Gaspar, who were involved in March friendlies with Italy and Romania.
First-time call-ups went to Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, who scored a breathtaking individual goal in the Champions League semifinal first leg against Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez.
Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz, who scored 36 goals this season, was named in a squad for a major tournament for the first time, aged 35.
Spain will play three more friendlies, against Bosnia, South Korea and Georgia, before starting the defence of their title against Czech Republic on June.
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Del Bosque also named an 11-man reserve list including Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin, who will join up with the squad to compensate for the absence of 17 players still involved in domestic and European competitions with their clubs.
Provisional Spain squad for Euro 2016:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto) David de Gea (Manchester United) Sergio Rico (Sevilla)
Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) Gerard Pique (Barcelona) Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid) Jordi Alba (Barcelona) Marc Bartra (Barcelona) Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) Mikel San Jose (Athletic Club) Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Bruno Soriano (Villarreal) Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) Koke (Atletico Madrid) Thiago (Bayern) Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona) David Silva (Manchester City) Isco (Real Madrid) Pedro (Chelsea) Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) Saul Niguez (Atlético Madrid)
Forwards: Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Club) Nolito (Celta Vigo) Alvaro Morata (Juventus) Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid).