Vicente del Bosque has hinted there is no guarantee Chelsea pair Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas will regain their places in the Spain squad.
Costa was left out of the group to play Belarus and Germany so he could rest after an injury-hit last few weeks, while Cesc was called up but, after travelling to Madrid, was sent home injured.
Sergio Ramos has questioned the commitment of the players, Costa in particular, and Del Bosque has told Onda Cero that neither of them can assume their place is secure.
“Maybe when they come back, Costa and Cesc, another player has taken their place,” the Coach said, AS reports.
“It’s not a threat, it’s reality. My responsibility has always been the pursuit of normality, the best thing for our football.”
Del Bosque expanded on the theme of new recruits, predicting that the World Cup winning-generation would soon be replaced by a group of players that includes Isco, a scorer against Belarus.
The boss also lamented the fact that a number of Spain players have had to move abroad in order to fulfil their full potential.
“Isco is an attacking midfielder with a natural ability to perform other duties,” Del Bosque said of the Real Madrid playmaker.
“We have to be optimistic [about the future]. It’s difficult to replace Xavi [Hernandez], Xabi Alonso, [David] Villa or Fernando Torres but it’s coming soon. I think we’re close.
“The new players are good, well educated. They’re extraordinary. On one hand it’s bad they’ve had to go abroad but on the other it’s been good for them.
“[Juan] Bernat has left his village [for Bayern Munich] and Bruno [Soriano] has a great understanding. And [Alvaro] Morata…”
Del Bosque concluded by commenting on Spain’s form, both before the Euro 2016 qualification defeat to Slovakia, and after.
“We had a lot of games without losing, we once, against Slovakia, in thirty,” he recalled.
“There’s a lot of balance and any team that is prepared can make things difficult.”
