Spain has won the men’s World Cup, the European Championship, the Olympic gold and the Women’s World Cup, completing a sweep of world football’s four major titles. The World Cup triumph in the United States, Canada and Mexico was only Spain’s second World Cup medal in history.
Rodri was named the tournament’s most valuable player. A survey among prominent Spanish sports journalists, coaches and former players found that only two members of Luis de la Fuente’s squad would have earned a starting place in the eleven that claimed the 2010 World Cup in South Africa under Vicente del Bosque: Lamine Yamal and Marc Cucurella.
An Argentine journalist included in the survey said he struggled to identify the best individual in de la Fuente’s side, arguing that La Roja played at the tournament like a symphony orchestra, with outstanding performers subordinated to the collective and none behaving like a soloist seeking to dominate the rest.
Decided from the bench
Fabian Ruiz and Rodri controlled the midfield while Dani Olmo provided flashes of genius in crowded penalty areas, but three of Spain’s toughest matches were settled by substitutes. Mikel Merino, Ferran Torres and Nico Williams proved decisive against Portugal in the round of 16, Belgium in the quarterfinal and Argentina in the final.
The winning goal against Argentina illustrated Spain’s method. Yamal drew several defenders toward him before passing back to Pedro Porro, who crossed to Williams, and Williams headed to Ferran Torres for the finish. Even individually, Yamal’s primary task was not to make solo runs but to attract opponents and create space for teammates in the penalty area.
The La Masia pipeline
De la Fuente brought eight Barcelona players to the World Cup. Cucurella, a La Masia graduate, moved from Chelsea to Real Madrid during the tournament. Among the 50 most expensive players in the world according to the Transfermarkt portal, only four are Spanish: Yamal, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, who was absent through injury, and Pau Cubarsi. All four came through Barcelona’s youth academy. Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi, a reserve under de la Fuente, appears in the broader top 75.
Spain’s development system does not aim to produce individuals valued at hundreds of millions of euros in the mould of Norway’s Erling Haaland, France’s Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise, England’s Jude Bellingham or Brazil’s Vinicius Junior. During Spain’s first golden era, the Ballon d’Or was dominated by Argentina’s Leo Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo; no player from the 2010 World Cup generation won the award.
At La Masia, where Johan Cruyff is credited as the founding figure, all age groups play to the same tactical pattern. Players including Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Alejandro Balde and Gavi were trained in the same system despite belonging to different generations.
A deep coaching pool
Spain holds more than 2,000 UEFA Pro coaching licences, seven times the number in England. The Spanish football federation keeps course fees relatively low. Basque coaches alone staff some of Europe’s leading clubs: Unai Emery at Aston Villa, Andoni Iraola at Liverpool, Xabi Alonso at Chelsea and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.
De la Fuente himself rose through the youth system. From 2013 he managed Spain’s under-19, under-21 and under-23 sides, winning silver at the Tokyo Olympics. He worked with several of the current world champions in those squads, among them Merino, Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Fabian Ruiz and Unai Simon. He took charge of the senior side after the Qatar World Cup and has said he only reached the maturity the role required at the age of 60.
The founding era
The transformation of Spanish football is traced to Luis Aragones, regarded as the founding father of La Roja’s success. Aragones removed then-star Raul Gonzalez of Real Madrid, rebuilt the national team around Barcelona players and adopted the tiki-taka style. Spain won Euro 2008, beating Italy and Germany, and two years later Vicente del Bosque led nearly the same squad to the 2010 World Cup title in South Africa, starting seven Barcelona players and three from Real Madrid in the final against the Netherlands.
Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas became symbols of the reconciliation between the rival clubs. Both received the Prince of Asturias Award in 2012 for their friendship despite fierce competition between their sides, a bond described as a foundation of the national team’s sustained success.
Record and outlook
Spain’s unbeaten run under de la Fuente stands at 38 matches: 38 wins and 10 draws from 50 games, with two defeats. Germany was the first nation to hold the men’s and women’s World Cups simultaneously; Spain is now the second.
The squad will defend the men’s title in 2030 on home soil. On July 11, the day after Spain reached the World Cup semifinal, Cubarsi and Yamal were reported to have been following the under-19 European Championship final, in which Spain beat Germany 2-0, a sign of what continues to emerge from the system.
