Spain at the FIFA World Cup
Spain is one of only eight countries ever to have won the FIFA World Cup, doing so in South Africa in 2010, the first time the team had reached the final.[1]
The team is one of the most present at the World Cup, with 16 appearances out of the 22 tournaments. Prior to their win in 2010, Spain's best World Cup result was a fourth-place finish in 1950.[2] Spain have reached the semi-finals twice and the quarter-finals six times, but have not reached the last 8 since their triumph in 2010.
FIFA World Cup record
| FIFA World Cup record | FIFA World Cup qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| Uruguay 1930 | Did Not Enter | Did Not Enter | ||||||||||||||
| Italy 1934 | Quarter-Finals | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||
| France 1938 | Withdrew | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||
| Brazil 1950 | Fourth Place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| Switzerland 1954 | Did Not Qualify | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | |||||||||
| Sweden 1958 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Chile 1962 | Group Stage | 13th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| England 1966 | 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |||
| Mexico 1970 | Did Not Qualify | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||||||
| West Germany 1974 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Argentina 1978 | Group Stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Spain 1982 | Second Group Stage | 12th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | Qualified as host | |||||||
| Mexico 1986 | Quarter-Finals | 7th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | ||
| Italy 1990 | Round of 16 | 10th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 3 | ||
| United States 1994 | Quarter-Finals | 8th | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 4 | ||
| France 1998 | Group Stage | 17th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 6 | ||
| South Korea Japan 2002 | Quarter-Finals | 5th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 4 | ||
| Germany 2006 | Round of 16 | 9th | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 5 | ||
| South Africa 2010 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | ||
| Brazil 2014 | Group Stage | 23rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| Russia 2018 | Round of 16 | 10th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | ||
| Qatar 2022 | 13th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 5 | |||
| Canada Mexico United States 2026 | to be determined | to be determined | ||||||||||||||
| Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 | qualified as co-host | qualified as co-host | ||||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia 2034 | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 1 Title | 16/25 | 67 | 31 | 17 | 19 | 108 | 75 | 125 | 87 | 26 | 12 | 291 | 81 | ||
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- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out
| Spain's World Cup record | |
|---|---|
| First match | File:Flag of Spain (1931–1939).svg Spain 3–1 Brazil File:Flag of Brazil (1889–1960).svg (27 May 1934; Genoa, Italy) |
| Biggest win | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain 7–0 Costa Rica File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg (23 November 2022; Doha, Qatar) |
| Biggest defeat | File:Flag of Brazil (1889–1960).svg Brazil 6–1 Spain File:Flag of Spain.svg (13 July 1950; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) |
| Best result | Champions in 2010 |
| Worst result | Group stage in 1962, 1966, 1978, 1998 and 2014 |
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By match
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By opponent
2010 World Cup
The Spanish team went to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as European champions and enjoyed a record unbeaten streak of 35 matches from 2007 to 2009.[3] Although they lost their first match 1–0 against Switzerland, they went on to win the group after victories over Honduras and Chile, while the Swiss failed to win another match and were eliminated. The Spanish team won all three following knockout matches by a score of 1–0, always scoring in the second half of regular time. The opponents were Portugal, Paraguay and Germany.
2010 World Cup Final v the Netherlands
It was Spain's first and the Netherlands' third appearance in a World Cup final, but neither had ever won a trophy. Spain was the dominating side with 57% ball possession, but the Dutch opponents had several chances as well. In a rough match, referee Howard Webb showed fourteen yellow cards and sent off Dutch defender John Heitinga in the second half of extra time, after regular time ended goalless. However, even with the five yellow cards received in the final, the Spanish team was awarded the FIFA Fair Play Trophy after collecting only eight yellow cards in seven matches. The winning goal was scored by Andrés Iniesta, a right foot strike from inside the box after an assist by Cesc Fàbregas.[4]
| Netherlands File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Iniesta File:Soccerball shade.svg 116' |
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Man of the Match:
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Record players
Iker Casillas has captained Spain to their World Cup title in 2010 and won the Golden Glove award for best keeper at the same tournament.
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iker Casillas | 17 | 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 |
| Sergio Ramos | 17 | 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 | |
| 3 | Andoni Zubizarreta | 16 | 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998 |
| Sergio Busquets | 16 | 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 | |
| 5 | Xavi | 15 | 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 |
| 6 | Carles Puyol | 14 | 2002, 2006 and 2010 |
| Fernando Torres | 14 | 2006, 2010 and 2014 | |
| Andrés Iniesta | 14 | 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 | |
| 9 | Xabi Alonso | 13 | 2006, 2010 and 2014 |
| 10 | Julio Salinas | 12 | 1986, 1990 and 1994 |
| Fernando Hierro | 12 | 1994, 1998 and 2002 | |
| Luis Enrique | 12 | 1994, 1998 and 2002 | |
| David Villa | 12 | 2006, 2010 and 2014 | |
| Gerard Piqué | 12 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 |
Top goalscorers
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No Spanish player has ever won the Golden Boot, but Emilio Butragueño and Spain's record World Cup scorer David Villa have each won the Silver Boot after scoring five goals in 1986 and 2010 respectively.
| Rank | Player | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Villa | 9 | 2006 (3), 2010 (5) and 2014 (1) |
| 2 | Emilio Butragueño | 5 | 1986 |
| Fernando Morientes | 5 | 1998 (2) and 2002 (3) | |
| Raúl | 5 | 1998 (1), 2002 (3) and 2006 (1) | |
| 5 | Estanislau Basora | 4 | 1950 |
| Zarra | 4 | 1950 | |
| Míchel | 4 | 1990 | |
| Fernando Hierro | 4 | 1998 (2) and 2002 (2) | |
| Fernando Torres | 4 | 2006 (3) and 2014 (1) | |
| 10 | Julio Salinas | 3 | 1986, 1990 and 1994 |
| José Luis Caminero | 3 | 1994 | |
| Diego Costa | 3 | 2018 | |
| Álvaro Morata | 3 | 2022 |
See also
External links
- RFEF site
- FIFA Official Ranking of all Participants at Finals 1930–2002. FIFA Match Results for all Stages 1930–2002
- FIFA official site
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References
- ↑ Hayward, Paul (July 11, 2010). "World Cup 2010: Spain survive brutal final to become champions". The Guardian.
- ↑ "History of the Spain National Team (Part 11): The 1950 World Cup in Brazil | www.rfef.es/en".
- ↑ "FACTBOX - Spain's 35 match unbeaten run". Reuters. 2009-06-20.
- ↑ "Iniesta: I'm privileged to have made so many people happy". MARCA in English. July 10, 2020.