There is something almost forgotten happening with the national team, with Spanish football if you will, but crystallized in the absolute team. There has been a tremendous fuss looking for tickets for the first two games in Spain of the world champion, today in Seville against Croatia and on Saturday in Oviedo against the Czech Republic. They sold out as soon as they were put on sale, and any favor that one might attempt, feasible in other times, is impossible today.
Furthermore, the victory at Wembley last Saturday has further fueled the sensation that we are facing a historic moment. The team coached by Luis de la Fuente has gone 39 official matches without losing, and it doesn't seem easy for this streak to break, although it is assumed that it will eventually. Around the team, only words of admiration are heard. Today, the words of Austrian coach Ralf Rangnick resonate after losing to Spain in the World Cup round of 16. "It wouldn't surprise me if we had faced not only the current European champions but also the future world champions. It is very difficult to play against Spain. They are excellent. They are like a clock. It is impossible to compete with them tactically."
The top analysts also praise the national team. On Saturday night, English viewers could hear the analysis of two highly respected personalities. "You look at Spain and notice one thing: the passing game. That is a team that has an identity. They know their strengths, they know where the next pass is going, and everyone feels comfortable in the system," said James Carragher, former Liverpool player and Sky Sports commentator.
And Thierry Henry added: "Spain explains the difference between playing football and understanding it. When they were behind on the scoreboard, they did not lose their calm, did not give up their identity, nor did they seek desperate solutions. They kept passing, moving, and believing in their football. The comeback was not a matter of luck. It was the result of a team that knows perfectly how they want to attack. Spain has patience, technique, and intelligence. They make the opponent run, lose their position, and end up finding spaces," explained the Frenchman.
The national team is, in this way, the jewel in the crown of an empire, that of Spanish football, which scares everyone. Facing Spain today is quite a serious challenge. In fact, when asked on the day of his presentation if he wanted a rematch against Spain, Zinedine Zidane, the new French national team coach, said that well, it's better to take it step by step and that they should think about Turkey, where they won the other day.
The numbers, as one could guess, support this overall feeling. If we consider all international tournaments, male and female, from the first category with official events (under-17s), football puts a total of 17 thrones up for grabs. In the male category, there are nine (World Cup, Euro, Nations League, Olympics, U21 Euro, U20 World Cup, U19 Euro, U17 World Cup, and U17 Euro). In the female category, there are eight (World Cup, Euro, Nations League, Olympics, U20 World Cup, U19 Euro, U17 World Cup, and U17 Euro).
So, as of today, Spain is the reigning champion in almost half of them. A total of eight. In the men's category, the senior team is the world champion (2026) and European champion (2024); the U23 team, Olympic champion (2024); and the U19 team, European champion. In the women's category, the senior women's team is the world champion (2023) and Nations League champion (2025); the U20 team, world champion (2026); and the U19 team, European champion. Looking back at history, Spain has won 57 international titles (37 for men and 20 for women). "This is the result of work that has been done in Spain for many years," explained Luis de la Fuente last Friday at Wembley to the English press.
There are also other parameters to measure the health of Spanish football. For example, highlighting that the male and female national teams are ranked number 1 in the FIFA rankings, something that only happens in another sport, basketball, but there with the United States. In the rest of the more or less popular team sports, there is no trace of this duality. In handball, it's Denmark (men) and Norway (women). In volleyball, it's Poland and Italy; in rugby, South Africa and England; in field hockey, Germany and the Netherlands... Another one: of the five candidates to win the Coach of the Year award, four are Spanish. De la Fuente, with all the odds to win, Luis Enrique (PSG), Arteta (Arsenal), and Unai Emery (Aston Villa). Only Vincent Kompany (Bayern) has made it into the list.
In the last three years, the national team, which today faces Croatia for the top spot in the Nations League qualification group, has officially beaten six of the other seven world champions. They defeated Argentina (final), France (semifinal), and Uruguay (group stage) in the last World Cup, but they have also defeated Germany, England, and Italy in the previous Euro. In fact, they have beaten France the last three times they played. With Italy and England, it's two wins each. Brazil is the only reigning world champion that has not faced Spain in an official match during this time (they played in a friendly in March 2023, which ended in a draw).