UEFA Euro 2016: 5 biggest omissions from the tournament

With the UEFA Champions League all done and dusted, the stage is all clear and set for Euro 2016 to become the main event. Most of the squads are ready to go for the finals, and we have you covered with plenty of coverage, analysis and opinion in the build-up to, and during, the biggest football attraction of the summer.

Recently here at Sportskeeda we compiled a shortlist of the youngsters to keep an eye out for, but who are we all going to miss the most? Which big stars are not going to feature and will their absence detract from the spectacle?

Let's take a look.

Diego Costa

His enemies celebrated his exclusion from the Spain squad. His teammates were left disappointed.

Through all the emotion, it was clear that Diego Costa had been left out due to a season which saw him fall well below his usually impressive form, as Chelsea lost sight of their Premier League crown in an embarrassing, and unprecedented, fashion.

However, does he really deserve to go to France any less than Nolito? A quick look at the statistics shows that the recalcitrant striker actually contributed directly to 23 goals across all competitions for Chelsea (16 strikes and seven assists), while the Celta Vigo star contributed to 19 (12 goals and seven assists). Meanwhile, Lucas Vazquez netted just four times, picking up eight assists.

Sure, these guys add different elements to La Furia Roja’s game-plan and have played marginally less matches but Costa is a far superior marksman who can not only rattle the net, but also the opposition. Moreover, he adds a unique steeliness to their team that only he can contribute, and they could well rue his exclusion if they find themselves in a real dogfight.

Looking at the cold, hard facts it’s pretty clear that Costa was hard done by and should have been selected.