On Friday, Spain coach Julen Lopetegui shared his latest 25-man national team squad and compared to his predecessor Vicente del Bosque proved much more willing to try out different players and give others a call-up rather than the side's World Cup and Euro winning core.
The most notable absences were Las Palmas' deep lying playmaker Roque Mesa and Barcelona midfielder turned right back Sergi Roberto, despite his late heroics against Paris Saint-Germain.
"Sergi Roberto? This time I preferred players with different characteristics," the coach said in his press conference.
"He is a very complete footballer but in the end I opted for another player."
Gerard Deulofeu's impressive form with Milan has earned him a first team call-up, already a mainstay in the youth set-ups but never having been able to replicate that form for the senior side.
"Deulofeu is a kid and wasn't getting a lot of playing time at his former club team," Lopetegui continued. "Now at Milan he is grown in importance and progressing."He can help us and I like him."
As had been expected, Pedro has been called-up to extend Chelsea's Spanish contingent even further, although Cesc Fabregas and Marcos Alonso were ultimately discarded.
"It's the first time I've called Pedro up and he can help us a lot," he added. "Cesc has also been playing a lot more and we considered the possibility, but in the end decided not to call him up this time.
"Marcos Alonso is playing very well at Chelsea and we kept an eye on him. We've always believed that systems are important, but more important is the style of play."
Another surprise addition is Asier Illarramendi, whose form with Real Sociedad has earned him a spot in defensive midfield.
"He's been playing very well for some time now, and he has certain characteristics that could be good for us," Lopetegui stated. "There is a lot of analysis done behind each selection."
Finally, the goalkeeping scenario, as has been the case in recent call-ups, was heavily discussed, given Sergio Asenjo's injury and Iker Casillas' resurgent form.
"Spain have always had great keepers," Lopetegui concluded. "Asenjo got injured, Sergio Rico has already been called up before, and we will continue to keep an eye on all of them."
