Zidane's favorite student unexpectedly selected for Euro 2016

Lucas Vazquez was one of two surprise choices by coach Vicente del Bosque when he finalized the official list of 23 players going to France.

Vazquez is among four names that Del Bosque updated to the official list of 19 players that he announced earlier.

The reason Del Bosque had to announce the four names later was because he wanted to wait for the players who had just played in the Champions League final in Milan on May 28 for Real and Atletico Madrid. This number included Sergio Ramos, Juanfran, Koke, Isco, Saul Niguez and Vazquez.

Of these six names, Ramos, Juanfran and Koke, with their experience, stable form and important contributions from the return journey, are naturally guaranteed a place because they did not have any health problems after the match.

Vazquez was a strategic card of Zidane in the second half of last season, helping Real to rise again after a dark period in the first half of the season. Photo: Reuters.

Del Bosque's concern, therefore, was just to choose one person from the remaining group. And after consideration, he decided to ignore Saul and Isco to give Vazquez a chance. This is a worthy recognition for the effort, hard work and continuous progress that Vazquez showed in the second half of the season.

From being a reserve player, very obscure under Rafa Benitez, Vazquez continuously shined, becoming a secret and powerful weapon of Real Madrid since Zidane took over as head coach.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder had a time when he started and played very consistently, when he replaced Gareth Bale, Benzema was injured. He played an important role in helping Real return, compete fiercely, only to lose to Barca in the last round of La Liga, and reach the Champions League final, then win the title.

Bellerin has a chance to play in Euro 2016, after Real's Dani Carvajal suffered an injury that will keep him out of training for about three weeks. Photo: AS.

Another surprising face on Spain's official Euro 2016 list is Hector Bellerin, the emerging right-back for Arsenal.

Bellerin was not even included in the preliminary squad. But after Real's Dani Carvajal suffered a thigh injury in the Champions League final, Del Bosque called up the Arsenal player.

The 21-year-old defender quickly impressed Del Bosque, to the point that he was given his debut in the 3-1 friendly win over Bosnia & Herzegovina last weekend. Bellerin's performance that day further convinced the Spain head coach to include him in the official squad for the trip to France.

List of 23 Spanish players. At Euro 2016, they are in Group D, meeting Czech Republic on June 13, Türkiye on June 17 and Croatia on June 21.

According to VNE