The Chelsea forward and the Bayern Munich midfielder have been left out of Vicente del Bosque’s squad that features Aleix Vidal, Sergio Rico and Vitolo of Sevilla
Sevilla trio Aleix Vidal, Vitolo and Sergio Rico have all capped fine seasons for the club by earning a call-up to Vicente del Bosque’s latest Spain squad.
Vitolo made his international bow in March, but Rico and Vidal are set to make their Spain debuts following a season in which they helped their club to a fifth-place finish and a Europa League final.
Manchester United pair Juan Mata and Ander Herrera have missed out on a place in the squad to face Costa Rica and Belarus, while Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara have been given a break after only recently returning from injury.
“Thiago has some physical problems,” Del Bosque confirmed. “We spoke with the doctors and decided not to take him this time. But we will be counting on him in the future.
“Diego Costa has played two matches, but not full games. He has just returned from a muscle injury and so is not fully fit.”
Del Bosque added: “[Vidal] is a winger, we do not have many of those. He also did well up front against Fiorentina and improved over the season.”
Rico joins goalkeepers David de Gea and Iker Casillas in the squad while Napoli defender Raul Albiol was a surprise omission, with his absence being explained by the coach as a simple desire to pick an extra forward player.
Spain face Costa Rica in a friendly on June 11 before their Euro 2016 qualifier with Belarus three days later.
Spain squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David de Gea (Manchester United), Sergio Rico (Sevilla)
Defenders: Juanfran Torres (Ateltico Madrid), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique, Marc Bartra (both Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Juan Bernat (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Nolito (Celta), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Isco (Real Madrid), Aleix Vidal (Sevilla), David Silva (Manchester City)
Forwards: Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Paco Alcacer (Valencia), Vitolo (Sevilla), Pedro (Barcelona)