World Cup 2018: Alvaro Morata and Hector Bellerin snubbed as Spain’s 23-man squadd is named

Alvaro Morata, Cesc Fabregas, Marcos Alonso and Hector Bellerin are the main absentees from Spain’s 23-man squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Julen Lopetegui, the manager, has named his selection following the completion of Spain’s domestic season on Sunday, but the four Premier League players miss out.

Morata, the Chelsea forward, has been a consistent selection under Lopetegui and he was La Roja’s joint-top scorer in qualifying with five goals. However, he has scored just one league goal in 2018 and has been usurped in the squad by Diego Costa - who also netted five times in qualifying - Rodrigo, the Valencia attacker, and Iago Aspas of Celta Vigo.

Bellerin has similarly missed out on the back of a disappointing club campaign with Arsenal. He has won three caps for Spain but did not play under Lopetegui in qualifying, so his snub was expected.

This is the situation Cesc Fabregas also finds himself in, having not played for his country since Euro 2016. The 31-year-old plays for Chelsea, like Morata, but is clearly not part of Lopetegui’s plans moving forward.

His Chelsea teammate Marcos Alonso has also failed to make the cut, despite being named in the Premier League team of the year.

Arsenal's Nacho Monreal has been selected ahead of Alonso as one of the full-back options, but Chelsea do have a representative in defender Cesar Azpilicueta.

David Silva of Manchester City is the other Premier League player to make the squad.

The full Spain squad can be seen, below:

Goalkeepers: David de Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao), Pepe Reina (SSC Napoli).

Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Álvaro Odriozola (Real Sociedad), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Nacho (Real Madrid), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético Madrid), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Thiago Alcántara (Bayern München), Koke (Atlético Madrid), Isco (Real Madrid).

Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid), Diego Costa (Atlético Madrid), Rodrigo (Valencia), Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)