Raul will not be going to Euro 2008 after being left out of Spain coach Luis Aragones' initial 31-man party.
Veteran striker not included by Aragones
Raul will not be going to Euro 2008 after being left out of Spain coach Luis Aragones' initial 31-man party.
The Spain coach has named a pool of players from which he will select his final party in May after Uefa stated that every squad member be vaccinated against an outbreak of Central European Encephalitis.
Raul's absence is not that unexpected with the Real Madrid skipper not having represented his country since September 2006.
Aragones has chosen to name the players that he has tried only once or twice, with Barca's Bojan Krkic, Sevilla's Andres Palop and Getafe duo Ruben De la Red and Pablo Hernandez being included.
Los Merengues do have Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos included, while Barcelona have Bojan as well as Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
David Albelda has also been named despite not playing for Valencia since December, while Alvaro Arbeloa has also been retained along with Liverpool team-mates Xabi Alonso, Jose Reina and Fernando Torres.
The absence of Raul may meet with an outcry from the Madrid-biased press, such as AS, who were driving a campaign to see the goalscorer recalled.
But that plan looks certain to have failed as those included in the 31 that do not make the initial squad will be used as cover in case of injuries, meaning that Raul will not even sneak in through the back door.
Initial 31-man Spain squad
Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Bojan Krkic (Barcelona), Daniel Güiza, Fernando Navarro (Real Mallorca), Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal), Jose Reina, Álvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Rubén De la Red, Pablo Hernández (Getafe), Andrés Palop (Sevilla), Juanito (Real Betis), Carlos Marchena, Joaquín, David Villa, David Silva, David Albelda (Valencia), Pablo Ibañez, Mariano Pernía, Antonio López (Atletico Madrid), Marcos Senna, Ángel, Joan Capdevilla (Villarreal), Raúl Tamudo, Luis García, Albert Riera (Espanyol).
