PREVIEW: Spain laud “trust and understanding” in World Cup glory pursuit

It should perhaps come as no surprise that, as the reigning European champions, Spain are among the favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup which gets underway in North America on Thursday 11 June.

But since lifting the trophy in South Africa in 2010, the Spaniards have failed to impress on the world stage. They’ve failed to so much as win a knockout match at the World Cup, and this year, the pressure is greater than ever before.

Spain are no longer a team in transition; their UEFA Euro 2024 final win over England has given them a taste of victory, and perhaps most importantly, they are aware of exactly what head coach Luis de la Fuente demands of them. The majority of this squad have played under the 64-year-old for years, as he previously served as head coach of various age categories for the national team before taking the senior job.

“My relationship with around 90% of the current squad goes back years. I’ve even known some of them since they were ten or 12. I’ve witnessed every stage of their development and we’ve grown together. It transcends the normal relationship between a player and coach,” he told FIFA in an interview ahead of this summer’s tournament .

“I actually think that’s one of our strengths: the trust and understanding within the group gives us the confidence to push ourselves as far as we can go. It’s very reassuring.”

Spain have not lost a game in regulation time since that glorious summer’s day in Berlin two years ago. Their only defeat came in the form of a penalty shootout loss to Portugal in the 2025 UEFA Nations League final, which was a bitter blow to La Roja , but serves to illustrate just how stubborn this Spanish side can be across a 90 minute game.

Spain haven’t exactly lucked out with easy opponents, either. Their path to European glory saw them pick off Germany , France and then England so while – on paper – topping a group containing Cape Verde , Saudi Arabia and Uruguay should be light work, Spain shouldn’t be complacent as the Saudis did famously beat Argentina four years ago before the Albiceleste went on to lift the trophy, and Uruguay are more than capable of holding their own.

Much of the narrative surrounding Argentina’s path to glory in Qatar in 2022 focused on Lionel Messi as he sought to claim the one major trophy that had, to that point, evaded him throughout his illustrious career. This time around, the world has chosen to fix their eyes on Spain’s Lamine Yamal , a player who truly burst onto the scene at UEFA Euro 2024 and hasn’t backed out of the limelight ever since.