Two big names who successfully made the cut were Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes and young forward Pedro Rodriguez. Also included in the final-23 was Athletic Bilbao's 21-year-old central midfielder, Javi Martinez.
However, del Bosque had to make a number of surprising exclusions. There was no place for Euro 2008 hero Marcos Senna and Villarreal team-mate Santi Cazorla, while one of the coach's reliable favourite, Dani Guiza was also omitted.
Spain's 23-man World Cup squad in full:
| Goalkeepers | |
| Iker Casillas | Real Madrid |
| Pepe Reina | Liverpool (ENG) |
| Victor Valdes | Barcelona |
| Defenders | |
| Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid |
| Alvaro Arbeloa | Real Madrid |
| Carles Puyol | Barcelona |
| Gerard Pique | Barcelona |
| Raul Albiol | Real Madrid |
| Carlos Marchena | Valencia |
| Joan Capdevila | Villarreal |
| Midfielders | |
| Jesus Navas | Sevilla |
| Xabi Alonso | Real Madrid |
| Xavi | Barcelona |
| Javi Martinez | Athletic Bilbao |
| Cesc Fabregas | Arsenal (ENG) |
| Sergio Busquets | Barcelona |
| Andres Iniesta | Barcelona |
| Forwards | |
| David Silva | Valencia |
| David Villa | Barcelona |
| Fernando Torres | Liverpool (ENG) |
| Pedro Rodriguez | Barcelona |
| Fernando Llorente | Athletic Bilbao |
| Juan Mata | Valencia |
The seven players who were cut from the provisional 30 were goalkeepers Diego Lopez (Villarreal), David De Gea (Atletico Madrid), defender Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna); midfielders Marcos Senna (Villarreal) and Santi Cazorla (Villarreal); and forwards Dani Guiza (Fenerbahce) and Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla).