Previous World Cup appearances: 16Best performance: Winners (2010)First appearance: 1934 (Italy)Top goal scorer: David Villa (9)Most appearances: Sergio Busquets, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos (17)Player to watch: Lamine YamalFIFA world ranking: 2The reigning European champions arguably boast the finest collection of Spanish talent since the 2008 and 2012 golden generation that swept all before them, and arguably come into the 2026 World Cup as the team to beat.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThis potentially new golden generation is even younger and arguably boasts more depth than the last, and Spain have moved on from their tiki-taka heyday to instil a faster, more direct style under the steady tutelage of coach Luis de la Fuente.However, Spain do have weaknesses and are under considerable pressure to deliver, especially after several recent World Cup let-downs.Incredibly, La Roja have failed to progress beyond the last 16 in the World Cup since their one and only triumph in 2010.Whether they can translate their talent into lifting the ultimate footballing prize for the second time is their defining question before this tournament.Spain’s main manTheir perfect run to the 2024 Euros trophy demonstrated how far ahead they were of Europe’s elite, as they beat England, France and hosts Germany.Spain have now gone 28 games unbeaten in normal time since March 2024, although there is a slight blemish on that record after they lost to Portugal on penalties in the 2025 Nations League final.Barcelona’s star right winger Lamine Yamal broke through at Euro 2024 at the age of 16, registering four assists and scoring one of the goals of the tournament, and has only gotten better since to become the world’s most exciting young player. Advertisement T …
