Spain Football History :
Presently under the leadership of head coach Vicente Del Bosque; the Spanish national football team’s operations are governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team is commonly called La Furia Roja (The Red Fury), La Roja (The Red), La Furia Espanola (The Spanish Fury) or sometimes as La Furia (The Fury).
Even before the foundation of Spanish Football Federation in 1909, it became a member of FIFA in 1904. They marked their international debut against Denmark at Stade Joseph Marien in Brussels, Belgium, on 28th August, 1920. They won this match by 1-0 and eventually registered their first win at the Summer Olympics.
Since their debut in the international arena, the Spanish national football team has played a total of 13 FIFA World Cup tournaments and 9 European Championships. Their success can be better understood with the fact that they have won 73 titles in both youth and senior teams. In the Confederations Cup, they share the record of being the only country besides Brazil to have won 35 consecutive matches from November, 2006 to June, 2009, before United States applied decisive brakes on their unprecedented run.
Spain’s Success Story :
Undoubtedly one of the most successful football teams, Spain’s success ratio in the past decade has been commendable. Presently, they are the defending champions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2012 tournaments. They currently hold the record of consecutive unbeaten matches at 29. In this journey, they started from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, continued in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and are still on. They also hold the world record of winning 15 consecutive matches. The win at the 2010 FIFA World Cup made them the only team outside Europe to clinch the apex title. Besides other records, they also hold the record of being only the second nation apart from Brazil to have lifted the FIFA trophy outside their home continent. They are presently ranked no. 1 in FIFA rankings and no. 2 in the Elo ranking. Almost all the experts and former players believe that the present Spanish football team is the best ever international football team in the world.
Spain squad |
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| Goalkeepers: | Iker Casillas David de Gea Pepe Reina |
Defenders: | Jordi Alba Raul Albiol Cesar Azplicueta Dani Carvajal Juanfran Alberto Moreno Gerard Pique Sergio Ramos |
| Midfielders: | Sergio Busquets Santi Cazorla Cesc Fabregas Andres Iniesta Ander Iturraspe Koke Javi Martinez Juan Mata Jesus Navas David Silva Tiago Alcantara Xabi Alonso Xavi |
Forwards: | Diego Costa Fernando Llorente Alvaro Negredo Pedro Fernando Torres David Villa |
Spain’s performance in all FIFA World Cups :
| World Cup Year | World Cup Hosting Nation | FIFA Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| 2006 | Germany | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | South Korea | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1990 | Italy | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1966 | England | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | – |
| 1938 | France | Withdrew | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 19 World Cups | 13 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |