King’s Cup enough for de la Pena?

Is Ivan de la Pena’s performance in Espanyol’s King’s Cup victory enough to lift him into Spain’s final roster for the World Cup?

Espanyol, currently flirting with relegation, was the heavy underdog in the match but thrashed Real Zaragoza 4-1 earlier this week.

De la Pena set up Raul Tamudo’s opening goal in the second minute by sending a free kick off the crossbar. It was one of two goals set up by de la Pena, aka Little Buddha.

There is no shortage of midfielders in Luis Aragones’ list of 33 players. The way I see it, this list has to be narrowed down to at least 10 players: Cesc Fabregas, Jose Antonio Reyes, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Joaquin, Borja Oubina, Ivan de la Pena, Jaime Gavilan, Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso, David Albelda, Ruben Baraja, Vicente, Marcos Senna, Cani.

That’s 15 midfielders. Start with eliminating newcomers Oubina and Gavilan. That leaves three midfielders who need to go. Who stays? Who goes?