On Tuesday May 13, Spain's manager Vicente del Bosque announced his preliminary squad for the national team. The roster featured most of the mainstays from last year's Confederations Cup roster.

In goal Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina and David De Gea got the call. On defense Del Bosque called up Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, Raúl Albiol, Javi Martínez, Juanfran Torres, Jordi Alba, César Azpilicueta, Daniel Carvajal and Alberto Moreno. In the midfield, Xavi Hernández, Xabi Alonso, Andrés Iniesta, Koke Resurreción, Sergio Busquets, Santi Cazorla, Ander Iturraspe, Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara, Juan Mata, David Silva, Pedro Rodriguez, and Jesus Navas got the call while the forward group consisted of Diego Costa, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Alvaro Negredo, Fernando Llorente.

Seven of these players will not make the trip to Brazil. Here is a look at who will be left off.

On defense, Ramos, Pique, Martinez and Alba are locks. Ramos, Pique and Alba are major fixtures and likely starters for the team. Martinez can play as a holding midfielder, but has flourished as a centreback at Bayern Munich. That may make Albiol dispensable; however Del Bosque has called up Albiol in each of the last major tournaments. Del Bosque brought six defenders to the 2010 World Cup, the 2012 Euro Cup and last year's Confederations Cup. That means that he is likely to bring in another two defenders to the World Cup. Of course, he may feel compelled to bring another one considering Martinez's versatility. Azpilicueta seems like a lock, especially after his performance for Chelsea. He gives Spain a solid defender on the right side of the field. Juanfran has had a great year for Atletico Madrid but Carvajal might be the man to move ahead of him in the pecking order. The Real Madrid defender is strong on the ball and highly mobile. His attacking instincts may also help Spain on the flanks. However, he has never played for the team and at age 22, he will probably have a chance in four years. Moreno, 21, looks like he will not be on the plane to Brazil. The final selection of defenders will be Ramos, Pique, Alba, Albiol, Martinez and Azpilicueta.

The midfield features a plethora of stars. Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Alonso are certain to be starters for the team. Fabregas could find himself starting instead of Xavi or could play as a false nine so he is likely to be included in the squad as well. Navas, Silva and Pedro are also likely locks for the squad as they have been utilized in past tournaments. Navas and Pedro can both be subbed in as forwards and their speed has created tremendous trouble for opposing defenses. Silva is a top playmaker that could find himself in the starting lineup behind the forward. That leaves Koke, Thiago Alcantara, Itturapse, Mata and Cazorla competing for one or two spots. Of the five, Mata and Cazorla have been consistently called up by Del Bosque for major tournaments. However, Mata is coming off a poor season with Manchester United and has never really managed to become a major presence on the national side. Cazorla has played for the team on 61 occasions and has 10 goals. He is a creative player and a veteran that could come in and be a great sub for Spain. Alcantara thrived for Bayern Munich and was the hero of the U21 Spanish side in the Euro 2013 final. He is a terrific passer with great creativity and flair. Many see him as the heir to Xavi in the midfield but he has already been ruled out of the squad. Meanwhile Koke has been one of the most important players for Atletico Madrid this season. His passing ability is terrific, but his ability to make a strong final pass is among his best attribute. Iturrapse is a solid passer, but he has never played for the Spanish team and is unlikely to be included in the final squad. Mata, Cazorla and Koke will likely get a seat to Brazil to fill out the midfield.

The decision on which strikers to take is a bit more complicated. Torres seemed to get the invitation out of respect, but he has done nothing this year to make a case for being given the keys in Brazil. Torres may have been a hero in the Euro 2008 and 2012 final but his performance for his club this season was far from exemplary. He only scored 10 goals and five assists in 2013-14 for Chelsea despite playing in 46 games. After that it gets a bit trickier. Costa is arguably a shoe-in after the controversy caused to get him. His statistics of course are the bigger argument in his favor. Of all the other strikers selected, he has been the most prolific in 2013-14 with 27 goals and three assists in 34 Spanish League matches; he has eight goals in eight Champions League matches. His first match with the team did not go particularly well, but he will probably get more chances to prove himself. Villa is the greatest goal scorer for Spain's nation team but his scoring has been slowed by injuries over the last few years. He has had a solid year with Atletico Madrid this year, and has scored 13 goals in 35 Spanish League matches. Negredo and Llorente will likely compete for a spot. Both players have towering presences (compared to other Spanish forwards) and both had solid years for their respective clubs. Llorente had 15 goals in 33 games for Juventus this season and is a dangerous player in the air. Negredo had a solid year for Atletico Madrid despite failing to score more than nine goals in 32 appearances. However, he had a solid run of matches for Spain during the World Cup qualifiers and also gives the team an aerial presence. He has 10 goals in 20 appearances while Llorente only has seven goals in 23 matches for Spain. Expect Costa, Villa and Negredo to be the choices for Spain.

The final 23-man roster will likely look like this:

Goalies: Casillas, De Gea, Reina

Defense: Ramos, Pique, Alba, Albiol, Martinez, Azpilicueta

Midfield: Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso, Busquets, Mata, Koke, Cazorla, Pedro, Navas, Fabregas, Silva

Forward: Costa, Villa, Negredo

Do you think this is the roster that Del Bosque takes to Brazil?