Gerard Moreno, Rodrigo and Mariano put pressure on Morata for World Cup place LaLiga Preliminary squad list picked

Espanyol forward Gerard Moreno and Lyon striker Mariano are both pushing for a place in Spain's World Cup squad having been picked by coach Julen Lopetegui for the upcoming friendly matches against Germany and Argentina.

The pair have been included in a preliminary 50-man list that has to be presented to FIFA and it will eventually be cut down to the 23 players that will go to Russia.

Moreno has been in strong form and shown week after week that he deserves a place in the national team squad while the Lyon frontman is an authentic goal poacher who was close to being picked by Lopetegui for the Spain squad last September.

They are both battling along with Rodrigo, Aspas, Diego Costa and finally Morata who has not done well recently at Chelsea and has not scored since the end of December.

Lucas Vazquez's chances are also improving and he is competing to steal the right wing place from Vitolo, along with Sarabia, Suso, Callejon, Pedro, Mata and Luis Alberto. Portu is another who has surprised with his strong displays at Girona.

Others fighting for a place in the preliminary squad are Rodri and Jaume Costa (Villarreal), Javi Martinez (Bayern), Illarramendi (Real Sociedad), Escudero (Sevilla) and Sergi Roberto (Barcelona).