Spain national football team


The Spain national football team has represented Spain in international men's football competition since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.
Spain are one of the eight national teams to have been crowned worldwide champions, having participated in a total of 15 of 21 FIFA World Cups and qualifying consistently since 1978. Spain has also won three continental titles, having appeared at 10 of 15 UEFA European Championships.
Spain became the first European team to win a FIFA World Cup outside of Europe, having won the 2010 tournament in South Africa, as well as having won back-to-back European titles in Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, defeating Germany and Italy in the respective finals, making them the only national team with three consecutive major titles. Because of this, from 2008 to 2013, the national team won the FIFA Team of the Year, the second-most of any nation, behind only Brazil. Also between February 2007 and June 2009, Spain went undefeated for a record-equalling 35 consecutive matches, a record shared with Brazil. Their achievements have led many experts and commentators to consider the 2008–2012 Spanish squads, among the best ever international sides in world football.

History

Spain has been a member of FIFA since FIFA's foundation in 1904, even though the Spanish Football Federation was first established in 1909. The first Spain national football team was constituted in 1920, with the main objective of finding a team that would represent Spain at the Summer Olympics held in Belgium in that same year. Spain made their debut at the tournament on 28 August 1920 against Denmark, silver medallists at the last two Olympic tournaments. The Spanish managed to win that match by a scoreline of 1–0, eventually finishing with the silver medal. Spain qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1934, defeating Brazil in their first game and losing in a replay to the hosts and eventual champions Italy in the quarter-finals. The Spanish Civil War and World War II prevented Spain from playing any competitive matches between the 1934 World Cup and the 1950 edition's qualifiers. At the 1950 finals in Brazil, they topped their group to progress to the final round, then finished in fourth place. Until 2010, this had been Spain's highest finish in a FIFA World Cup finals, which had given them the name of the "underachievers".
Spain won its first major international title when hosting the 1964 European Championship held in Spain, defeating the Soviet Union 2–1 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The victory would stand as Spain's lone major title for 44 years. Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, reaching the second round and four years later they reached the quarter-finals before a penalty shootout defeat to Belgium. Spain reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup. The match became controversial when Italian defender Mauro Tassotti struck Luis Enrique with his elbow inside Spain's penalty area, causing Luis Enrique to bleed profusely from his nose and mouth, but the foul was not noticed nor sanctioned by referee Sándor Puhl. Had the official acknowledged the foul, Spain would have merited a penalty kick. In the 2002 World Cup, Spain won its three group play matches, then defeated the Republic of Ireland on penalties in the second round. They faced co-hosts South Korea in the quarter-finals, losing in a shootout after having two goals controversially called back for alleged infractions during regular and extra time.
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At UEFA Euro 2008, Spain won all their games in Group D. Italy were the opponents in the quarter-final match, which Spain won 4–2 on penalties. They then met Russia again in the semi-final, beating them 3–0. In the final, Spain defeated Germany 1–0, with Fernando Torres scoring the only goal of the game. This was Spain's first major title since the 1964 European Championship. Xavi was awarded the player of the tournament. In the 2010 World Cup, Spain advanced to the final for the first time ever by defeating Germany 1–0. In the decisive match against the Netherlands, Andrés Iniesta scored the match's only goal, coming in extra time. Spain became the third team to win a World Cup outside their own continent, and the first European team to do so. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas won the golden glove for only conceding two goals during the tournament, while David Villa won the bronze ball and silver boot, tied for top scorer of the tournament. Spain qualified top of Group I in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 with a perfect 100% record. They became the first team to retain the European Championship, winning the final 4–0 against Italy, while Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot for top scorer of the tournament.
Two years later, however, they were eliminated from the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. At Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, the side reached the last 16.

Team image

Nicknames

Spanish team is commonly known by fans as "La Furia Roja", meaning the Red Fury in Spanish. However, there are another unofficial nicknames to refer to the national team of Spain.
The other most common nickname, known by fans, is "Los Toros", since Spanish Fighting Bull is one of Spain's famous national treasures and often used to define Spanish culture, and also often depicted by Spanish supporters alike. Spanish football team is sometimes also referred as the Bulls due to this cultural heritage.
Spanish team also received other nicknames, mostly "Toreros" or "Matador", both meanings are Bullfighters in Spanish, to describe its passionate and romantic style of football playing.

Style of play

During Spain's most successful period between 2008 and 2012, the team played a style of football dubbed 'tiki-taka', a systems approach to football founded upon the ideal of team unity and a comprehensive understanding in the geometry of space on a football field.
Tiki-taka has been variously described as "a style of play based on making your way to the back of the net through short passing and movement", a "short passing style in which the ball is worked carefully through various channels", and a "nonsensical phrase that has come to mean short passing, patience and possession above all else". The style involves roaming movement and positional interchange amongst midfielders, moving the ball in intricate patterns, and sharp, one or two-touch passing. Tiki-taka is "both defensive and offensive in equal measure" – the team is always in possession, so doesn't need to switch between defending and attacking. Commentators have contrasted tiki-taka with "Route One physicality" and with the higher-tempo passing of Barcelona and Arsène Wenger's 2007–08 Arsenal side, which employed Cesc Fàbregas as the only channel between defence and attack. Tiki-taka is associated with flair, creativity, and touch, but can also be taken to a "slow, directionless extreme" that sacrifices effectiveness for aesthetics.
Tiki-taka was successfully employed by the Spanish national team to win UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. The team of this era is regarded as being among the greatest international teams in history.
Sid Lowe identifies Luis Aragonés' tempering of tiki-taka with pragmatism as a key factor in Spain's success in Euro 2008. Aragonés used tiki-taka to "protect a defense that appeared suspect , maintain possession and dominate games" without taking the style to "evangelical extremes". None of Spain's first six goals in the tournament came from tiki-taka: five came from direct breaks and one from a set play. For Lowe, Spain's success in the 2010 World Cup was evidence of the meeting of two traditions in Spanish football: the "powerful, aggressive, direct" style that earned the silver medal-winning 1920 Antwerp Olympics team the nickname La Furia Roja and the tiki-taka style of the contemporary Spanish team, which focused on a collective, short-passing, technical and possession-based game.
Analyzing Spain's semi-final victory over Germany at the 2010 World Cup, Honigstein described the Spanish team's tiki-taka style as "the most difficult version of football possible: an uncompromising passing game, coupled with intense, high pressing". For Honigstein, tiki-taka is "a significant upgrade" of Total Football because it relies on ball movement rather than players switching position. Tiki-taka allowed Spain to "control both the ball and the opponent".

Kits and crest

Spain's kit is traditionally a red jersey with yellow trim, dark blue shorts and black socks, whilst their current away kit is all predominantly white. The colour of the socks altered throughout the 1990s from black to the same blue colour as the shorts, matching either the blue of the shorts or the red of the shirt until the mid-2010s when they returned to their traditional black. Spain's kits have been produced by manufacturers including Adidas, Le Coq Sportif and Adidas once again. Rather than displaying the logo of the Spanish football federation, Spain's jersey traditionally features the coat of arms of Spain over the left breast. After winning the 2010 World Cup, the World Cup winners badge was added to the right breast of the jersey and a golden star at the top of the Spanish coat of arms.

Kit suppliers

Home stadium

Spain does not have a designated national stadium, and as such, major qualifying matches are usually played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The capital city Madrid, Seville, Valencia and Barcelona, are the four Spanish cities that have hosted more than 15 national team matches, while also being home to the largest stadiums in the country.
Other friendly matches, as well as qualifying fixtures against smaller opponents, are played in provincial stadia. The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign included matches at the Reino de León in León, Los Cármenes in Granada, El Molinón in Gijón, and the Rico Pérez in Alicante.

Media coverage

Spain's UEFA European Qualifiers and UEFA Nations League matches, and all friendly games from 2018 until 2022, will be televised nationwide by La 1, flagship television channel of the public broadcaster TVE.

Coaching staff

PositionName
Head coach Luis Enrique

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the Spain squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying fixtures against Malta and Romania on 15 and 18 November 2019 respectively.
Caps and goals correct as of: 18 November 2019, after the match against Romania.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.
, 15 November 2019
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player retired from the national team.
SUS Player is serving suspension.
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Previous squads

;World Cup
;European Championship
;Confederations Cup
holds the record for most appearances for the Spanish team with 170 since his debut in 2005. In second place is Iker Casillas with 167, followed by Xavi with 133.
David Villa holds the title of Spain's highest goalscorer, scoring 59 goals from 2005 to 2017, during which time he played for Spain on 98 occasions. Raúl González is the second highest goalscorer, scoring 44 goals in 102 appearances between 1996 and 2006.
Between November 2006 and June 2009, Spain went undefeated for a record-equaling 35 consecutive matches before their loss to the United States in the Confederations Cup, a record shared with Brazil, and included a record 15-game winning streak. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Spain became the inaugural European national team to lift the World Cup trophy outside Europe; along with Brazil, Germany and Argentina, Spain is one of the four national teams to have won the FIFA World Cup outside its home continent.

Most capped players

Below is a list of the ten players with the most caps for Spain,. Players in bold are still active at international level for the national team.
#PlayerPeriodCapsGoals
1Sergio Ramos2005–17021
2Iker Casillas2000–20161670
3Xavi2000–201413313
4Andrés Iniesta2006–201813113
5Andoni Zubizarreta1985–19981260
6David Silva2006–201812535
7Sergio Busquets2009–1162
8Xabi Alonso2003–201411416
9Cesc Fàbregas2006–201611015
9Fernando Torres2003–201411038

Top goalscorers

Below is a list of the top ten goalscorers for Spain,.
#PlayerPeriodGoalsCapsAverage
1David Villa 2005–20175998
2Raúl 1996–200644102
3Fernando Torres 2003–201438110
4David Silva2006–201835125
5Fernando Hierro1989–20022989
6Fernando Morientes1998–20072747
7Emilio Butragueño1984–19922669
8Alfredo Di Stefano1957–19612331
9Julio Salinas1986–19962256
10Míchel1985–19922166
10Sergio Ramos 2005–21170

FIFA Rankings

Last update was on 28 November 2019.
Source:
Best Ranking Worst Ranking Best Mover Worst Mover

Results and fixtures

The following matches were played or are scheduled to be played by the national team in the current or upcoming seasons.

2019

2020

2021

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

FIFA Confederations Cup

Olympic Games

Source:

Honours

Titles

FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
Olympic Games
FIFA Confederations Cup

Awards

FIFA Fair Play Trophy
FIFA Team of the Year
Prince of Asturias Award for Sports
Laureus World Team of the Year
CompetitionTotal
World Cup1001
European Championship3104
Olympic Games1203
Confederations Cup0112
Nations League0000
Total54110