Vicente del Bosque praises Fernando Llorente

Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has insisted that Juventus forward Fernando Llorente is not out of his thinking for the World Cup this summer.

The powerful striker was left out of the La Roja squad last week, but Del Bosque has offered the 29-year-old hope of a place for Brazil.

"He's a player who we hold in very high regard, but there's a lot of competition in this squad," he told reporters at a press conference.

"We've left out [Roberto] Soldado, Llorente, [Fernando] Torres, [David] Villa... players who are normally here, but we can't choose everyone."

Llorente has scored seven times in 24 games for Spain.