Jan Oblak and Diego Costa pull out of international duty

Diego Costa will miss Spain’s games against England (Aug. 8) and Croatia (Aug. 11) due to family reasons. His replacement has already been announced — it’s Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas, who scored against Atlético Madrid this weekend. Likewise, Jan Oblak has pulled out of the Slovenia side that will play Bulgaria and Cyprus due to “molestias” (niggles).

Both will stay and work with teammates in Atlético’s training ground after the team has gotten off to a particularly slow start, which included Saturday’s loss at Celta and a season-opening draw at Valencia.

It might be just a coincidence, but after such a sluggish start Costa and Oblak might be more concerned with getting things right under Diego Simeone than playing internationals. Costa played with Spain at the World Cup but was home quite soonm while Oblak didn’t go to the World Cup at all. It will be interesting to see if any other rojiblancos pull out of international duty in the upcoming hours.