The Spain World Cup win was their second after their first triumph in 2010. Spain have now won two World Cups and three European Championships in the last 18 years. In the previous century, they only had a lone European Championship win in 1964 to show for.
Spain are now the most consistently successful European footballing nation if one takes only the current century into account, with only France coming close to them.
The Spain World Cup win in 2026 was another chapter in their success story.
Spain World Cup Win: From Struggle Stories To Success Stories
Spain were known as the talented underachievers in the last century.
They had quality players like Emilio Butragueno, Julio Salinas, Andoni Zubizarreta and Raul Gonzalez in the 1980s and 1990s, but failed to make it past the quarter-finals in any World Cup.
The closest they came to winning a major tournament was in 1984, when Michel Platini’s brilliant France beat them in the final of the European Championships. Spain used to qualify for major tournaments only to be disappointed after the knock-out rounds began.
For example, they played in a very close match in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, but Roberto Baggio’s brilliance won the match for the Italians.
Then in 2006, it was another very good Spanish team that came up short against the genius of Zinedine Zidane at the 2006 World Cup. It was so often a heartbreak for La Roja before Euro 2008.
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Spain World Cup Win: The Possession-Based Style Slowly Took Over the World
The possession-based style consisting of a plethora of short passes is the one that has come to stand out for the Spanish team. It is not a coincidence that Spain’s dominance in world football started in 2008, the same year Pep Guardiola took over as the FC Barcelona manager.
Guardiola remained at the helm of Barca until 2012, and Spain conquered the world as well as Europe during that time period. The likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets formed probably the strongest midfield that had ever assembled for a national team.
There was a lull for around a decade after that, as the infamous tendency to underachieve grappled Spain once again. Early exits from major tournaments happened until the European Championships in 2024, which saw Luis de la Fuente work his magic with a young team.
Exciting young players like Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Pedri, and Ferran Torres combined with more experienced ones like Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Unai Simón to fashion Spain’s triumph at the 2024 Euros in Germany.
The same group of players were part of the Spain World Cup win in 2026 in North America as well. De la Fuente once again showed the world what a proper football team looks and plays like.
Spain stayed true to their possession-oriented style, dominating the ball against all of their opponents in the tournament, including in the one-sided final against Argentina. Additionally, they had two exciting young wingers who went direct at the opposition defence to make their job more difficult.
The Spain World Cup win was also a result of having a watertight defence that conceded a solitary goal in the tournament in eight matches, and the Spain World Cup win once again resulted from an emphasis on the team and not on any individual.
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