Spain Names 23-Man, Final Squad For World Cup

European champions Spain have named the 23-man squad that will represent the nation at the World Cup. Amongst those who have made the final squad are two Barcelona players who seemed out-of-the-picture at the end of qualifying.

Goalkeeper Victor Valdés may be the biggest surprise. The Barça keeper, eight seasons into his senior squad career at the Nou Camp, has never been capped by the national team. The 28-year-old’s form throughout Barcelona’s title defense raised calls for the Catalan’s inclusion in the squad, but as one of five goalkeepers named to the provisional team by Vincente del Bosque, his odds still seemed long. With today’s announcement, Valdés has beaten out Villareal `keeper Diego López for the third goalkeeper spot on the final roster.

Valdés’s teammate Pedro Rodriguez was also a surprise inclusion, with 22-year-old also yet to be capped by the national team. Pedro’s emergence with the Blaugrana had raised speculation that he could be called-in, particularly given his on-field relationship with teammates Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta, who will see regular playing time for del Bosque (health permitting). This season, Rodriguez had 23 goals in 52 all-competition appearances.

Del Bosque named one other uncapped player to his final squad: Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martínez. A 21-year-old central midfielder, Martínez will be the youngest member of the Spain squad, adding a degree of cover for Hernández, Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas - key figures in the Spanish midfield, all suffering with various degrees of injury. Martínez, one of the emerging stars of the Spanish game, had five league goals this season.

The most notable of del Bosque’s seven cuts was Marcos Senna - a defensive midfielder who was one of the team’s best players in the 2008 European Championships. Senna’s exclusion could be seen as the consequence of Spain needing to take another playmaking midfielder; however, Senna has struggled throughout the season with his own injury problems, and with Sergio Busquets’ emergence in a deep-sitting role, Senna became expendable.

Senna’s club teammate Santi Cazorla also gets cut after being a key figure in Spain’s 2008 triumph. Like Senna, Cazorla had come off an injury-plagued season, and the emergence of players like Pedro and Jesus Navas costing him a spot.

Daniel Güiza also misses out on the World Cup after deputizing for Fernando Torres in Switzerland and Austria. The former Mallorca striker has spent the last two seasons with Fenerbahçe in Turkey but has not been able to replicate the production that saw him score 29 goals for the Barralets in 2007-08.

Spain’s other cuts: goalkeeper David De Gea, defender Cesar Azpilicueta, and striker Alvaro Negredo.

Spain opens the World Cup on June 16 against Switzerland.

* - age as of June 11