FIFA World Cup 2018: Spain XI that will not be playing in Russia

Centre-backs: Marc Bartra and Inigo Martinez

Bartra and Martinez still have a future with Spain

The central defence is one area of the pitch Spain could have trouble in the coming years because Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique are on the wrong side of the 30s and there are no other Spanish defenders who can match their level at the moment.

Unsurprisingly, Ramos and Pique are part of the travelling squad along with Nacho Fernandez and Cesar Azpilicueta.

This is one area of the pitch where Lopetegui didn’t have a lot of options to choose from and the only two notable exclusions are that of Marc Bartra and Inigo Martinez.

Bartra completed a move to Real Betis in January 2018 and played a big role as the club finished 6th and qualified for next season's Europa League. However, his late push for a World Cup berth wasn’t successful.

Inigo Martinez, on the other hand, hasn’t been able to build on his 4 caps for Spain since 2016. He was linked with a move to Barcelona last summer, but instead, he moved to Athletic Bilbao in January as a replacement for the outgoing Aymeric Laporte.

Martinez is a top defender, but the fact that he hasn’t played for Spain since 2016 indicates that he doesn’t feature in Lopetegui’s plans yet.