Football: Soldado to miss Euro 2012

SCHRUNS: Striker Roberto Soldado was left out of Spain’s squad for Euro 2012, despite scoring a hat-trick for his country in March. Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo was selected ahead of Soldado, with Fernando Torres also included by the world and European champions despite his erratic form at Chelsea. There were no major surprises in the 23-man squad named by coach Vicente del Bosque, with defender Carles Puyol and striker David Villa having already been ruled out of the tournament because of injury. Atletico Madrid forward Adrian Lopez was overlooked while Manchester United’s David de Gea also failed to make the cut. Del Bosque admitted that Villa, who ruled himself out after failing to recover from a broken leg he suffered in December, would be difficult to replace.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2012.