Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque has delayed naming his final squad for the World Cup and put Barcelona starlet Gerard Deulofeu on stanby in case of any injuries in the lead up to the tournament in Brazil.
Del Bosque, who coached the defending champions to glory in South Africa four years ago, has omitted the likes of Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas from a 17-man list to play Bolivia in a friendly next week.
Having until June 2 until the final squads have to be confirmed, Spain are clearly giving injured striker Diego Costa as long as possible to declare himself fit for the competition.
Del Bosque said about Deulofeu: “We trust him and if someone were to pull out tomorrow, he would be top of the list.”
“Until June 2 we do not need to give the final list to FIFA so why do it ahead of time?”
Spain’s Group B opponents in Brazil will be Netherlands, Chile and Australia.
