Midfield
Two of the biggest surprises when the Spain squad was announced was the omission of Saul Niguez and Isco. The Real Madrid midfielder, especially, has not had the best of seasons at the Bernabeu after Zinedine Zidane took over. He has failed to hit the heights of his days at Malaga and his first season in the Spanish capital but he remains a valuable member of the squad.
Atletico Madrid did well to reah the Champions League final and give Barcelona a run for their money in La Liga until the penultimate weekend of fixtures. And Saul has been an integral part of the Rojiblancos setup, playing either on the right or in central midfield. He scored 9 goals and had 4 assists in all competitions this season and the 21-year-old is now hot property with clubs across Europe chasing his signature.
Juan Mata’s stock has dipped ever since his move from Chelsea. A two-time Player of the Year at Stamford Bridge, he has now been reduced to making the occasional contribution on the pitch at Manchester United, never really settling into a single role under Louis van Gaal.
But the Spaniard’s talent has never been questioned. And having scored in the final of Euro 2012, albeit when the game was already won, Mata is one player who could easily start for many other teams if he wasn’t Spanish.
The same goes for his compatriot also plying his trade in the Premier League – Santi Cazorla. The diminutive midfielder was flying under the radar until his move to Arsenal in 2012 saw him become one of the finest midfielders on display in England.
With the ability to shoot with both feet, nobody really knows what his preferred foot is. He can either control the game in central midfield or provide the incisive passes to create goalscoring opportunities. A knee injury saw him miss most of the season after he had surgery and, had he been fit, he would have been a shoo-in as a backup midfielder in Del Bosque’s squad.
