Loaded with talent, Spain not missing Costa

Morata, Aspas and Rodrigo all in top form

Spain will remain without Diego Costa at least until next year, and nobody is really worried about it.

Thanks to a good run by their deep stock of strikers, La Roja are well-served in attack seven months out from the World Cup.

Alvaro Morata, Iago Aspas, and Rodrigo all have been in top form, helping to put aside any talk about Costa’s absence.

Costa has not been called up by coach Julen Lopetegui since June because he has not played competitively since transferring from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club are serving a transfer ban from Fifa and cannot register any new players until January, so Costa has been practising but cannot play.

Lopetegui says he will not consider bringing back the veteran until he starts playing competitively again.

That hasn’t been cause for concern. The other forwards have been getting the job done, leading Spain to a World Cup berth without having to go through the playoffs.

“We are very happy,” Lopetegui tells local radio station CadenaSer. “Morata is a very good No. 9, as is Rodrigo, and Aspas, and Diego when he is with us.”

“We are very happy with all the strikers that we have and when it’s time we will decide who will be the starter,” Lopetegui says.

“And the player who gets to start the first game of the World Cup may not be the one who plays in the second game.”