Julen Lopetegui names Spain World Cup 2018 squad: as it happened

Julen Lopetegui has announced the 23 players that he will take with him to the Russia 2018 World Cup with Chelsea's Alvaro Morata being the key omission.

The bulk of the questions directed at the Basque coach during the press conference centered on Morata's absence with Lopetegui claiming that as is generally the case, the compiling of any major tournament list is always a complex and difficult process. 

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Spain's preparation ahead of the competition starts with a friendly game against Switzerland on June 3rd. They then face Tunisia in Krasnodar on June 9th before their first Group B game in Sochi on the 15th against Portugal. The remaining Group B fixtures are against Iran and Morocco.   

Spain World Cup 2018: squad announcement (as it happened)

Spain World Cup 2018: squad announcement preview 

With less than a month to go before the first ball is kicked at the 2018 Russia World Cup, today it’s the turn of Spanish national team manager Julen Lopetegui to present his 23 man squad as “La Roja” look to emulate the heroics of South Africa in 2010 when Vicente del Bosque’s men lifted their first World Cup title.

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As always the prelude to any World Cup list has not been without it’s speculation with the spotlight falling on the inclusion or not of Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata. The former Real Madrid and Juve player, despite a bright start with the London club has had an indifferent season in England and may be one of the players to miss out.

Scandal developed in Spain yesterday as Cope Radio station filtered, what appeared to be a draft list of the 23 man squad from a dress rehearsal at the Telefonica HQ where Lopetegui will announce the Russia squad. The filtered version omitted Morata and later Telefonica were forced to issue a statement claiming that the list had no bearing on the real list and was just created to create an authentic dry run…..We’ll see how much veracity there is behind their claim when all will be revealed at 1300 CEST today as the Basque coach faces the media and names the 23 players that will be on the flight to Russia.