Spain showcases skill, spirit, and strength to prove they’re genuine World Cup contenders

We are more than halfway through the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and it’s undeniable that there are more than a few heavyweights who are contending to win this summer’s edition. There’s Argentina, who have won its last three major tournaments, and France, who have reached the last two World Cup Finals, as well as other formidable outfits like England, Brazil, and Portugal. There’s also a plethora of dark horses like Norway, Switzerland, and Morocco who, despite not being fancied to claim the ultimate prize, have the firepower and cohesiveness to make a deep run.

In the face of so many intriguing candidates, it’s easy to forget about Spain. But after a 16-year slumber in the biggest tournament in sports, they finally roused themselves with a caffeinated performance on Thursday, proving why they are, in fact, one of the prime contenders to win top honours in New Jersey on July 19.

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From past struggles to present glory

It was less than two decades ago that Spain dominated world football with an iron fist, winning their first-ever World Cup title in 2010, sandwiched between two European Championships. But since then, however, they have struggled to make their mark in the intercontinental tournament, exiting the group stage in 2014 before losing to hosts Russia in the Round of 16 in 2018, followed by a shocking Round of 16 elimination to Morocco in 2022. Luis Enrique stepped aside in the wake of this heartbreaking defeat in Qatar, with Luis de la Fuente being promoted from the youth setup and stepping into the void.

De La Fuente quickly passed his first tests with flying colours, with Spain prevailing in nine of their first 10 matches under his tenure – including a penalty shootout win in the 2023 UEFA Nations League Final vs. Croatia – before heading to Germany. La Roja dominated the 2024 European Championship from start to finish, winning all seven of their matches by combining their trademark possession-based play with direct, pacey wingers and outscoring opponents 15 to 4 throughout the tournament. More than anything, it was a team-oriented setup, with Young Player of the Tournament Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams forming a devastating trio in attack alongside Mikel Oyarzabal. Dani Carvajal, Marc Cucurella, Aymeric Laporte and Robin Le Normand kept things tight at the back in front of Unai Simón. And even with Pedri suffering an injury in the midst of the tournament, they continued to play dynamic, free-flowing football thanks to an elite midfield trio of Fabián Ruiz, Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, and joint-top scorer Dani Olmo.

Since that momentous night in Berlin, Spain continued to mark their presence as one of the finest sides in world football. Take away their penalty shootout defeat to Portugal in last summer’s UEFA Nations League Final, and they haven’t lost a single match since March 2024, while they haven’t lost an official match since March 2023. And when they entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup, they did so on the back of 11 outright victories in their last 15 competitive matches. Perhaps this explains why Spain looked fairly underwhelming throughout the group stage. Perhaps they were just waiting for the business end to start for them to finally pull the jokers out of their sleeves.

After a humbling goalless stalemate against debutantes Cape Verde, Spain bounced back in style with a 4-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia before departing Atlanta for Guadalajara and taking on Uruguay. They faced off against two-time champions Uruguay, who, having fallen out with manager Marcelo Bielsa, cared far more about injuring Spain players than actually playing football. This would materialise in Nico Williams picking up an adductor injury, with the Athletic Club winger joining a growing list of injured attackers like Fermín López (who missed out on the tournament with a metatarsal injury) and wingers like Yéremy Pino and Victor Muñoz.

As it turns out, having nearly all of your wingers sidelined doesn’t matter too much if your only available winger is Yamal. After missing two months with a hamstring issue, Yamal has gradually regained his fitness and gotten back to top form, and on Thursday, he proved why he is arguably the best right winger in the game. The 18-year-old weaved magic into every single play, giving Austria’s players fits with his mercurial dribbling ability and helping La Roja impose itself in Inglewood, CA. Back in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, Austria were constantly chasing the game and had no answer whatsoever for Spain’s compelling game plan.

“The World Cup starts now," stated Yamal in the post-match mixed zone. "If you lose, you go home, and we don't want that. None of us wants that. We all wanted to go to Dallas and play the last 16." After playing 25, 45, and 75 minutes in his first three matches, Yamal played 85 minutes vs. Austria and showed the same kind of quality that spurred Barcelona to a second-straight LaLiga title this year. "I'm good. Now I'm 100%," he said. "I'm ready to play whatever the boss wants. I need to keep resting and looking after myself, but I'm 100%. Little by little, I'm feeling like myself again, making the runs I need to, dribbling, and I'm very happy."

Spain silences Austria with historic victory, displays pure intent

Spain kept their foot on the gas from start to finish and very nearly took the lead via Marc Cucurella, only for the goal to be ruled out. Instead, it was Pedri who tip-toed through the midfield, drawing in a plethora of white shirts, before spreading the ball to an open Cucurella, whose cross was coolly converted by Oyarzabal into the back of the net. Spain were in front, and had it not been for the shot-stopping heroics of Alexander Schlager, they likely would’ve entered halftime with an unassailable two-goal or three-goal lead.

Austria manager Ralf Rangnick responded with a double substitution at the interval, with Carney Chukwuemeka and Florian Grillitsch replacing Xaver Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald. These changes resulted in a heightened intensity in Austria’s pressing set-up, whilst the double substitution of Saša Kalajdžić and Marko Arnautović for Romano Schmid and Michael Gregoritsch gave them the presence in the box that they were missing. But ultimately, Austria never quite managed to trouble Spain apart from a few well-worked crosses from Marcel Sabitzer.

"I can't remember any unforced error that they made," stated Rangnick after the match. "Spain showed us their best performance today. I dare to say that we didn't only play the European champions, but perhaps the next world champions."

Spain continued to play the game on their own terms, with their high line absorbing any potential counter-attacks, and in the 66th minute, they finally put the game to bed. Álex Baena, starting in an unnatural left-wing position due to Williams’ absence, made a break for the byline before firing in a cross for Pedro Porro to head home. And in the 89th minute, when most of the journalists had already made their way to the mixed zone/press conference room, Cucurella dialled in an inch-perfect cross for Oyarzabal to slot home.

It was a historic victory for La Roja, with Simón surpassing Walter Zenga’s 36-year-old record for the most minutes (519) without conceding a goal in the World Cup. And unlike their group stage matches, where they conceded one shot on target apiece, they conceded zero shots on target to their 10 against Schlager’s goal. Apart from their final World Cup qualifier, a 2-2 draw to Türkiye, which came after they sealed automatic qualification, Spain haven’t conceded more than one goal since the UEFA Nations League Final vs. Portugal.

Next up for Spain? An all-Iberian clash against Portugal in Dallas.