Forwards
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“We can't always be looking to the past,” said Del Bosque when Fernando Torres was excluded from the Spain squad. The striker who scored in the 2008 final to give Spain the first of three major trophies has given way to Aritz Aduriz, Nolito and Alvaro Morata.
The 32-year-old frontman, who has more than 100 caps for Spain, had been selected for every major tournament since the 2006 World Cup. Until now. Sadly, having lost the pace of old that made him a world class striker, has deserted him at his age and he now plays as a decoy striker to Antoine Griezmann at Atletico, playing the final pass more than being the end product. La Roja have enough players in that position and Torres was notably excluded.
Along with Torres, another player from his former club Chelsea was also dropped. Diego Costa chose Spain over Brazil and played in the 2014 World Cup which proved to be a disaster. Unable to adapt to a tiki-taka style of play with a bit of directness involved up front, Costa was neither here nor there and performed poorly as the defending champions exited in the group stage.
His on-field antics did see Del Bosque warn him earlier this season but the manager has decided that his side are better off without the 27-year-old leading the line.
