Spain: Raul is out of national team

Raul Gonzalez has been left out of Vicente del Bosque’s Spain squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Turkey next week. This appears to spell the end of the Real Madrid striker’s international career. Daniel Guiza has been named in his place despite his inconsistent form with Fenerbahce, while Raul has been in his best form for Madrid and has still not made it.

There were few other surprises in the squad with Gerard Piqué retained after Del Bosque opted against calling up the injured Carles Puyol, because he is suspended for one of th two matches anyway. Diego Lopez’s form for Villarreal has seen him replace Andres Palop as the third goalkeeper, while Sergio Busquets is in alonside Santi Cazorla in the midfield.