Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui has announced his 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup and a few important names are missing from the list. Probably the most important absence is that of Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata, the 25-year-old had a very good start to the season at Stamford Bridge but then faded after some injury problems. Chelsea team-mates Marcos Alonso and Cesc Fabregas were also left out of the World Cup squad, along with Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin. Alvaro Morata scored just 15 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season and was a substitute in last week's FA Cup final.
"Including four players up front was not something we wanted to do," said manager Lopetegui, explaining his choice to leave Morata out of the squad. "We have opted for three other players who had different assets." The Chelsea striker had last played for Spain in November 2017 when he also scored in a 5-0 friendly victory over Costa Rica. Despite being left out of the squad, Morata posted a message on Twitter wishing the team "lots of luck" for the final tournament in Russia. He has scored 13 goals in 23 appearances for Spain so far.
Former Chelsea forward Diego Costa is one of the three strikers included in the squad, along with Iago Aspas from Celta Vigo and Rodrigo Moreno from Valencia. Rodrigo Moreno has scored 19 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions for Valencia this season, while Iago Aspas bagged 23 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for Celta Vigo. Barcelona veteran midfielder Andres Iniesta also has a place in the Spain World Cup squad, while Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is the number one choice for the place between the sticks. Spain will play in Group B at the World Cup, alongside Portugal, Iran and Morocco.
Spain are 6/1 at Bet365 to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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Comments (1)
sharpe
05/23/18, 11:05:25 AM
I think Morata has really good technical qualities for a central striker plus he's very mobile too but he really alternate in his form during the year, a huge games...
I think Morata has really good technical qualities for a central striker plus he's very mobile too but he really alternate in his form during the year, a huge games with a long vain periods which is not good enough of course, neither for the team or country. I think his issues are mainly in his own head(lack of confidence) and with all that being said it's not surprising he'll miss the world cup I think.
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