Spain’s coach Vicente Del Bosque called up a 21-man squad for the for friendly games against Serbia and South Corea by the end of the month, which many had hoped would give a hint of the team he intends to bring to the European championship this summer, but the call-up revealed little about the team that goes to Poland and Ukraine.

Given that players from Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao are playing the final of the Copa del Rey, the King’s Cup, on May 25, and Chelsea is playing the Champions League final on Saturday, their players’ participation is ruled out, which means several regular players are not on this list.

The team instead includes some players that have done remarkable seasons in their clubs, including Adrián López (Club Atlético de Madrid), David de Gea (Manchester United FC), Beñat Etxebarria (Real Betis Balompié) and Isco (Málaga CF), but for whom it may be difficult to get a place in the final team. He also called up Raúl Albiol, although he has not played much during this season. The fact that Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona) is injured opens new possibilities. Moreover, Del Bosque gave no hint regarding the participation of David Villa (FC Barcelona).

“What we have to do now is to chose the best ones,” Del Bosque said, stressing that the most important task now is to motivate the players, both old and new ones, to get ready for June 10 when the championship starts. 

The Spanish team won the World championship in 2010 under Del Bosque's leadership, as well as the last European championship in 2010, led by Luis Aragones.

The list of the final team to play in Poland and Ukraine will be known on May 27.

Spain’s squad for the friendly games:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina and David De Gea.

Defenders: Álvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Juanfran, Raúl Albiol, Jordi Alba, Ignacio Monreal and Álvaro Domínguez.

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Santi Cazorla, David Silva, Jesús Navas, Bruno Soriano, Isco, Beñat Etxebarria and Javi García.

Forwards: Álvaro Negredo, Roberto Soldado and Adrián López.

This article was translated and edited by Stina Lunden.