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The Spanish national team is known for having some of the world’s best players at its disposal. But with so many talented players, the Spanish national team will need to make some big decisions. Based on the season they’ve had so far with their club teams, here are five players that may not make the trip to Brazil.
Roberto Soldado
His last season with Valencia proved to be a fruitful one, with Soldado scoring 30 goals in 46 games. However, that is just about when the good part of his playing season ended. Tottenham acquired Soldado for a whopping £26 million. While it’s true that Soldado has played 19 games and scored 10 goals, none of them came from strikes in the Premier League. Five of the goals were scored in the Europa League and the other five were penalties. At this rate, he may have to watch the World Cup from home.
We haven’t seen much in the way of skill from Torres in a few seasons. Fernando Torres is one of those players who can have a spectacular match one day, and then have a horrible one the next. Described as “inconsistent at club level” by LiveWorldCupOdds, he may either impress us all in the World Cup or completely fail. He also doesn’t start every game at Chelsea, taking backseat to players like Eto’o and Oscar. Even though he’s been selected for the last two international competitions, Torres will have to get back to top form for Spain manager Vicente del Bosque to ensure it’s his skills that take him to Brazil and not just his reputation.
Juan Mata is an enigma. He was two-time Chelsea Player of the Year, but that was before Jose Mourinho came in. Mata received minimal playing time this season, and so when the transfer window opened, Manchester United picked him up. Yet, he still hasn’t made a real impression there either. If Manager David Moyes can’t figure out where to play Mata and improve the remainder of his season, he’ll be sitting out of this year’s international competition.
Once Spain’s all-time top scorer, at 32 years old, David Villa is not the player he once was. Having done well in the World Cup in South Africa, he returned the following season in 2011 only to have a leg break injury that took him out of that and part of 2012’s season. When he finally did return to full health, he moved to Atletico Madrid where he enjoys more playing time but has yet to shine on the pitch. David Villa will need to step his game up to be included in Brazil.
Carles Puyol
At 35 years old, Carles Puyol is heading toward the end of his career and many think he is near retirement. Puyol has been struggling to regain his fitness level and only played in 28 matches in the 2012/2013 season. With defenders like Javi Martinez and Raul Albiol ready to be called up, Puyol is likely the biggest candidate to miss the World Cup.
