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Spain national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Spain women's national football team.

 Spain
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)
  • La Roja (The Red [One])
  • La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)[1][2]
AssociationRoyal Spanish Football Federation
(Real Federación Española de Fútbol – RFEF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachVicente del Bosque
CaptainIker Casillas
Most capsIker Casillas (140)
Top scorerDavid Villa (52)
FIFA codeESP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current1
Highest1 (July 2008 – June 2009, October 2009 – March 2010, July 2010 – July 2011, October 2011 – present)
Lowest25 (March 1998)
First international
 Spain 1–0 Denmark 
(Brussels, Belgium; 28 August 1920)
Biggest win
 Spain 13–0 Bulgaria 
(Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
Biggest defeat
 Italy 7–1 Spain 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4 June 1928)
 England 7–1 Spain 
(London, England; 9 December 1931)
World Cup
Appearances13 (first in 1934)
Best resultWinners, 2010
European Championship
Appearances9 (first in 1964)
Best resultWinners, 1964, 2008, 2012
Summer Olympics
Appearances10 (first in 1920)
Best resultWinners, 1992
Confederations Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2009)
Best resultThird place, 2009
Medal record
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Silver medal – second place 1920 Antwerp Team
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Team[3]
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Team[3]

The Spain national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de España) represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque. The Spanish side is commonly referred to as La Roja ("The Red") or La Furia Roja ("The Red Fury").[4][5] Spain became a member of FIFA in 1904 even though the Spanish Football Federation was first established in 1909. Spain's national team debuted in 1920. Since then the Spanish national team have participated in a total of thirteen of nineteen FIFA World Cup and nine of fourteen European Championships.

Spain are the reigning World and European champions, having won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. The national team are currently ranked number 1 in both the FIFA World Ranking and the World Football Elo Ratings. The Spanish national football team's triumph in Euro 2008, in addition to the aforementioned cup victories, makes them the only national team in history to win three major tournaments consecutively. These achievements have led many commentators, experts and former players to consider the current Spanish side the best ever in world football.[6][7][8]

Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain went undefeated for a record-equaling 35 consecutive matches before their loss to the United States, a record shared with Brazil, including a record 15-game winning streak and thus earning third place in the Confederations Cup. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup Spain became the first European team to lift the World Cup trophy outside of Europe and along with Argentina and Brazil are the only national teams to have won the FIFA World Cup outside of their continents.

History

Early years and the effect of war

Spain's side from 1920

The Real Federación Española de Fútbol (Template:Lang-en) was founded in 1909 and became affiliated with FIFA in 1913. However, the national team did not play a full international match until 1920 when they beat Denmark 1–0 in the Olympic Games. They made their FIFA World Cup debut in 1934, for which they qualified after 9–0 and 2–1 wins over Portugal. They beat Brazil 3–1 in the first round, before losing 1–0 in a replay to hosts, and eventual champions Italy in Florence. On 3 May 1936 Spain beat Switzerland 2–0 in Bern, in what would prove to be their last game until after the Spanish Civil War in 1941. They would then play only against similarly politically-aligned countries, or Switzerland, Republic of Ireland and Portugal, neutral during World War II until 1949 when they drew 1–1 with Belgium and re-entered FIFA competition.

1950s

The Spanish Civil War and World War II prevented Spain from playing any competitive matches between the 1934 World Cup and the 1950 World Cup qualifiers, where they overcame Iberian rivals Portugal, who later declined an invitation to take part, with a 5–1 win and 2–2 draw. At the finals in Brazil, they topped their group against England, Chile and the United States to progress to the final round. For the first, and so far only time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, the winner was decided, not by a single championship match, but via a group format involving the four teams who had won their respective groups in the previous stage. The four teams in the final group were Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain. Spain failed to record a win (W0 D1 L2) and 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's leading scorer during the 1950 World Cup was striker Estanislao Basora, who ended the tournament with five goals.

Under French-Argentine coach Helenio Herrera and Italian assistant coach Daniel Newlan, Spain came out of dormancy to qualify for the first European Championship in 1960. Spain beat Poland 7–2 on aggregate to progress to the quarterfinals. However, Spain forfeited its quarterfinal tie with the Soviet Union because of political disagreements between Spain's dictator Franco and the Soviets.

The Spaniards, led by Alfredo Di Stéfano, qualified for the 1962 World Cup, beating Wales 3–2 over two legs to advance to the UEFA/CAF play-off where they would beat Morocco 4–2 over two legs to advance to the final.

1964 European Championship

Spain won its first major international title after winning the 1964 European Championship held in Spain. Spain was able to defeat a highly favored Hungary side 2-1 to advance to the final against the Soviet Union, which General Francisco Franco refused to play four years earlier. Spain would go on to win the final played in Madrid by the same score of 2-1 after Marcelino broke the 1-1 tie in the 84th minute. The victory would stand as Spain's lone major title for 44 years.

1982 World Cup in Spain

In 1976, Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. This edition of the World Cup featured 24 teams for the first time. Expectations were high for Spain as the host nation under coach José Santamaría. In the group stages, Spain was drawn into Group 5, in which they could only manage a 1–1 draw with Honduras in the finals' opening match, after which they had a 2–1 victory over Yugoslavia, but were defeated 1–0 by Northern Ireland. These results were enough to secure progress to the second round where they were drawn into Group B, but defeat to West Germany and a goalless draw with England meant that Spain were knocked out, and Santamaría was sacked.

1984 to 1988

Former Real Madrid coach Miguel Muñoz, who had temporarily coached Spain in 1969, returned to coach the national team. Spain was in Euro 84 qualifying Group 7, against The Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Iceland, and Malta. Entering the last match, Spain needed to defeat Malta by at least 11 goals to surpass the Netherlands for the top spot in the group, and after leading 3–1 at half time, Spain scored nine goals in the second half to win by 12–1 and win the group. In the final tournament, Spain was drawn into group B with Romania, Portugal, and West Germany. After 1–1 draws against their first two opponents, Spain topped the group by virtue of a 1–0 victory against West Germany. The semifinals saw Spain and Denmark drawn at 1–1 after extra time, before Spain proceeded by virtue of winning the penalty shootout 5–4 on penalties. Hosts and tournament favourites France defeated Spain 2–0 in the final after a goalless first half.

Spain qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico having topped Group 7 with Scotland, Wales, and Iceland. Spain began the group stage by losing to Brazil 1–0, but progressed after beating Northern Ireland by 2–1 and Algeria by 3–0. Round 2 paired Spain with Denmark, who they overcame 5–1 with Emilio Butragueño scoring four goals, but in the quarterfinals a 1–1 draw with Belgium ended with Belgium winning 5–4 on penalties.

Muñoz was retained as coach for Euro 88. As in the several previous tournaments Spain qualified impressively in a group with Austria, Romania, and Albania. Spain were drawn into group A and began their tournament with a 3–2 victory over Denmark, but were nevertheless knocked out in the group stage after losing 1–0 and 2–0 to Italy and West Germany respectively.

1990 to 1992

For the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Spain had a new coach, Luis Suárez Miramontes. Having qualified from a group consisting of Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Northern Ireland, and Malta, Spain entered the competition on a good run of form, and after reaching the knock out stages through a 0–0 draw with Uruguay and wins over South Korea (3–1) and Belgium (2–1), fell to a 2–1 defeat to Yugoslavia in the second round.

Newly appointed coach Vicente Miera failed to gain qualification for Spain for Euro 92, after finishing third in a group behind France and Czechoslovakia. Vicente Miera did however lead Spain to the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics[3] in Barcelona.

Clemente's reign from 1992 to 1998

Javier Clemente and the Spain team in a training session.

Javier Clemente was appointed as Spain's coach in 1992, and the qualification for the 1994 World Cup was achieved with eight wins and one loss in twelve matches. In the final tournament Spain were in Group C in which they drew with Korea Republic 2–2 and 1–1 with Germany, before qualifying for the second round with a 3–1 victory over Bolivia. Spain continued through the second round with a 3–0 victory over Switzerland, but their tournament ended with a controversial 2–1 defeat to Italy in the quarter-finals.

Spain qualified for Euro 96 from a group consisting of Denmark, Belgium, Cyprus, Republic of Macedonia, and Armenia. In the final tournament Spain faced group matches against Bulgaria, France and Romania. With 1–1 draws against the first two opponents, and a 2–1 win over Romania, Spain confirmed their place in the quarter-finals, with a match with hosts England, which finished goalless and Spain eventually fell 4–2 in the shootout.

In his second World Cup as Spain's coach, Clemente led his team undefeated through their qualifying group in which Yugoslavia and Czech Republic were the other contenders. Spain qualified with fourteen other European sides in the first ever thirty-two team World Cup, but were eliminated in the first round with four points after losing to Nigeria, drawing with Paraguay, and winning just one game, against Bulgaria.

Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002

After a 3–2 opening defeat to Cyprus in Euro 2000 qualifying, Clemente was fired and José Antonio Camacho was appointed as coach. Spain won the rest of their games to qualify for the final tournament, where they were drawn into Group C. A 1–0 defeat to Norway was followed by victories over Slovenia (2–1) and Yugoslavia (4–3), with Spain thus setting up a quarterfinal against 1998 World Cup champions, France, which was won 2–1 by France.

The qualifying tournament for the 2002 World Cup went as expected for Spain as Spain topped a group consisting of Austria, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein. In the final tournament Spain won its three matches in group B, against Slovenia, Paraguay (both by 3–1), and South Africa (3–2). Spain beat Republic of Ireland on penalties in the second round, and faced co-hosts Korea Republic in the quarterfinals. In what is considered a highly controversial match, Spain eventually lost in a penalty shootout after having two goals called back for alleged infractions during regular and extra time.[9]

Euro 2004

At Euro 2004 in Portugal, Spain was drawn into group A with hosts Portugal, Russia and Greece, behind whom they had finished second in qualifying. Spain defeated Russia 1–0 and drew 1–1 with Greece, but failed to get the draw they needed against Portugal to proceed to the knock out stages. Iñaki Sáez was sacked weeks later and replaced by Luis Aragonés.

2006 World Cup, Golden Generation 2007-

UEFA Euro 2008 Final starting lineup on June 29, 2008, in Vienna (Ernst Happel Stadion).

Spain qualified for the 2006 World Cup only after a play-off against Slovakia, as they had finished behind Serbia and Montenegro in Group 7, which also included Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Lithuania, and San Marino. In Group H of the German hosted finals, Spain won all their matches, and beat Ukraine 4–0, Tunisia 3–1 and Saudi Arabia 1–0. However Spain fell 3–1 in the second round to France, with only the consolation of a share, with Brazil, of the 2006 FIFA Fair Play Award.

After being eliminated from the competition, Luis Aragonés came to the decision that the team was not physical or tough enough to be able to out-muscle opponents, they therefore opted to start concentrating on monopolising the ball and thus started to employ the tiki-taka – a style characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession. Raphael Honigstein describes it as "a significant upgrade of the Dutch "total football", a system that relied on players changing positions." [10]

Spanish players celebrating their victory in Madrid.

Spain qualified for Euro 2008 at the top of Qualifying Group F with 28 points out of a possible 36, and were seeded 12th for the finals. They won all their games in Group D: 4–1 against Russia, and 2–1 against both Sweden and defending champions Greece.

Reigning World Cup holders Italy were the opponents in the quarter final match, and held Spain to a finished 0–0 draw resulting in a penalty shoot-out which Spain won 4–2. Spain met Russia again in the semi-final, again beating them, this time by 3-0.[11]

In the final, played in Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Spain defeated Germany 1–0, with a goal scored by Fernando Torres in the 33rd minute.[12] This was Spain's first major title since the 1964 European Championship. Spain were the top scoring team, with 12 goals, and David Villa finished as the top scorer with four goals; Xavi was awarded the player of the tournament, and nine Spanish players were picked for the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament.[13]

Confederations Cup debut and 2010 World Cup qualification

Austria lost to Spain by a score of 5–1 in November 2009 in Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna

Luis Aragonés left the manager's role after the Euro 2008 success, and was replaced by Vicente del Bosque.[14]

2008 saw David Villa score 16 goals in 15 games, breaking the Spanish record of 10 goals in one year held by Raúl since 1999.[15] On 11 February 2009, David Villa broke another Spanish record as his 36th-minute goal against England saw him become the first Spanish player to score in six consecutive games.[16] By the start of the tournament, Del Bosque's had ten consecutive wins, making him the first international manager to do so from his debut, breaking Joao Saldanha's record, held since 1969, of nine consecutive wins with Brazil.

Spain won all three of its matches at the group stage, the 5–0 win over New Zealand including a Fernando Torres hat-trick that is the earliest and fastest hat-trick in the tournament's history. With further wins over Iraq (1–0) and South Africa (2–0) they earned not only qualification for the semifinals, but also obtained the world record for 15 consecutive wins and tied the record of 35 consecutive unbeaten games (with Brazil).

On 24 June 2009, Spain's undefeated record ended when the United States beat Spain 2–0 in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-finals which sent Spain to the third place match. This was Spain's first defeat since 2006. Spain defeated hosts South Africa 3–2 after extra time in the 3rd-place playoff.[17]

On 9 September 2009, Spain secured its place at the 2010 World Cup finals after beating Estonia 3–0 in Mérida.[18] Spain went on to record a perfect World Cup qualifying record with 10 wins out of 10 in Group 5, finishing with a 5–2 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on 14 October 2009.[19] The Spanish team entered the 2010 World Cup ranked number 2 on the FIFA rankings and as clear favorites to win the tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup winners

2010 FIFA World Cup Final starting lineup on July 11, 2010, in Johannesburg (Soccer City).
World Cup champions parade, celebrate as they pass in front of the Air Force Headquarters in Madrid.

See Also: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup Group H and 2010 FIFA World Cup Final

The 2010 World Cup draw, which took place on 4 December 2009, placed Spain in Group H, alongside Switzerland, Honduras, and Chile. Spain lost its first group stage match against Switzerland, 0–1. In their second match they defeated Honduras by 2 goals from David Villa. Their next match against Chile on 25 June was won 2–1. They advanced to the knock-out stage to defeat Portugal 1–0, reaching the quarter-finals, in which they defeated Paraguay 1-0, with another goal by David Villa, reaching the last four for the first time since 1950. They then advanced to the final for the first time ever by defeating Germany 1-0 via a headed goal from Carles Puyol.

Spain take a corner against Portugal in a Round of 16 match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In the final four minutes of extra time during the World Cup final against the Netherlands, Andrés Iniesta scored a single goal from a pass given by Cesc Fàbregas, winning the World Cup for Spain for the first time in their history. In this physical match, Spain received 5 yellow cards, while Holland received 9, as well as 1 red card, the highest total of cards for a World Cup final in history. Spain won the World Cup by only scoring 8 goals and conceding 2, which is the lowest by any World Cup winner in both cases. Also, they are the only team not to have conceded a goal in the last four games of the tournament. Spain are the only team that has won the World Cup title after losing its opening game. Spain are only the second team to win a World Cup outside their own continent, following Brazil's wins in Sweden and Korea-Japan, which also makes Spain the only European team to win the World Cup outside of Europe. It is also the only European champion to not have at least one championship won in home soil (Italy, West Germany, England and France have all won at least one or their sole final on home soil).

The 2010 FIFA World Cup squad won the FIFA fair play award while some of its players also won awards.[20] Goalkeeper Iker Casillas won the golden glove for only conceding two goals during the tournament. David Villa won the bronze ball and silver boot, tied for top scorer of the tournament with a total of 5 goals and 1 assist.

Road to Euro 2012 glory: Champions of Europe again

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
Spain national team after winning the Euro 2012 with the trophy.

Like the previous qualification tournament, Spain qualified top of Group I in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 with a perfect 100% record. Spain defeated Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, and Liechtenstein to advance to the main tournament, where they became the first team to retain the European championship. Spain were drawn in Group C in the group stage, alongside Italy, Croatia, and Republic of Ireland. Spain opened their group stage match against Italy on 10 June 2012. Italy took the lead in the second half of the match, through substitute and Italian striker Antonio Di Natale in the 61st minute, who had come on to replace another striker, Mario Balotelli.[21] Three minutes later, Spain found an equalizer, in which midfielder David Silva assisted another midfielder, Cesc Fábregas, who in turn slotted the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.[21] Spain's next match was on 14 June, against Republic of Ireland. Spain striker Fernando Torres opened the goalscoring, early in the fourth minute, retaining the ball, after Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne's unsuccessful tackle, before scoring the goal from 10 yards, past chanceless goalkeeper Shay Given.[22] It did not take until the second half, in the 49th minute, where David Silva extended the lead for Spain, nutmegging three defenders in the process, Stephen Ward, Sean St Ledger, and Dunne, after Given blocked Iniesta's shot.[22] With 20 minutes of the match remaining, Torres scored his second goal, after a successful assist from Silva, as he chipped the ball past Given.[22] The final goal was scored by Fábregas, in which he received the ball after a Silva corner, and scored from a difficult angle.[22] Their third and final group stage match against Croatia on 18 June, proved to be more difficult than expected, as Croatia had several goalscoring chances, notably from Croatian players Ivan Strinić and Ivan Perišić, which Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas had no problems dealing with.[23] The match looked like it was heading for a draw, until the 88th minute, in which substitute Jesús Navas struck the winning goal, after a beautiful chip from Cesc Fabregas allowed Iniesta a simple assist.[23]

The captain Iker Casillas, lifting the Euro 2012 trophy, the third consecutive major title for Spain, achieving a historic treble.

In the quarter-finals, on 23 June 2012, Spain took on France. Spain opened the goalscoring, after defender Jordi Alba's assist, which midfielder Xabi Alonso scored with a header past France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.[24] Spain completed their win, late in the second half, with Alonso stepping up to score the penalty kick, after France defender Anthony Réveillère brought down Spain striker Pedro inside the penalty area.[24] Spain faced Portugal on 27 June in the semi-finals, who had previously beaten Czech Republic in the quarter-finals, courtesy of an late Cristiano Ronaldo goal.[25] The decisive match proved to be more difficult than expected, with Portugal having numerous goalscoring chances.[26] However, Spain managed to hold on, which required the match to go into extra time.[26] Spain showed signs of improvement, but nevertheless, failed to score over both halves.[26] A penalty shoot-out was then ensued.[26] Alonso, who had previously taken an penalty kick against France, had his spot kick saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patrício.[26] Portugal looked to take the advantage, with midfielder João Moutinho as the next penalty taker, however, Casillas produced a tremendous diving save to prevent Portugal from taking the lead.[26] Iniesta stepped up to take the second penalty, which was successfully taken.[26] Defender Pepe's effort proved to be successful as well, as he struck the ball just past Casillas.[26] Defender Gerard Piqué showed no sign of nerves as he struck the ball past Rui Patrício, identically to Pepe's spot kick.[26] Defender Bruno Alves stepped up to take the third penalty for Portugal, however, midfielder Nani encouraged Alves to let him take the penalty, which Nani struck high in the left corner of the goal and sending Casillas to the wrong side of the goal.[26] The fourth penalty was taken by defender Sergio Ramos, who produced a Panenka-like penalty, chipping the ball past Rui Patrício.[26] The turn finally arrived to Alves, who missed the spot kick and hit the right post.[26] Fábregas scored Spain's fifth goal, as the ball went in via the left post.[26] Spain emerged victorious, and were in a UEFA European Football Championship final for the fourth time, since 1964, 1984 and 2008.[26] In the final match at the . Spain won the tournament by a score of 4–0 over Italy.[27] Spain quickly took control in the first half, with goals in the 14th minute from a header by David Silva, and in the 41st minute from Jordi Alba. In the second half, Italy used the last of their three substitutions, putting Antonio Di Natale and Thiago Motta into the game. Thiago Motta injured his hamstring shortly after entering the match, and had to leave the pitch, forcing Italy to play with ten men for the remainder of the match.[27] Spain were able to increase their lead to 4–0 in the second half, with goals from Fernando Torres in the 84th minute, and from Juan Mata in the 88th minute, helping them to win their second straight European Championship, and their third straight major tournament title (Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup).[27] Gerard Piqué for Spain and Andrea Barzagli for Italy both received yellow cards in the match.[27]

UEFA Euro 2012 Final starting lineup on July 1, 2012, in Kiev (Olympic Stadium).

Given the final victory Spain broke many barriers and beat several records:

  • Spain became the first team to win two consecutive titles.
  • Spain became the first team to make the final as the reigning European champion since Germany did in 1976.
  • Spain won a final by the greatest goal margin ever (4-0), one goal better than West Germany's victory over the Soviet Union in 1972 (3-0).
  • Spain became along Germany the most successful teams in the European Championships history, with three titles each.
  • Spain is the first national team to have won the World Cup and their continental championship three times in a row. The only non-European competitors, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, have never won the Copa América as world champions.
  • Spain is the country with the best goal difference in a championship tournament, 12-1. This is true partly because the Quarterfinals was added to Euro Cup in 1996, and therefore there were fewer matches. France has the second best goal difference of 12-3 in 1984, but with a game in hand.
  • In addition, Vicente del Bosque became the second manager, after Germany manager Helmut Schön, to lead a national side to a UEFA European Football Championship and a FIFA World Cup trophy,[28] and the first to have also won the UEFA Champions League.[29]

Spain also got a complete change in reputation, when "La Roja" by increasing numbers was seen as the best team, even as far as being called the best team in the history of football. Spain also got other good references. The French sports daily L'Equipe rewrote Gary Linekers famous quote and wrote "Football is a sport where you play eleven against eleven, and eventually in the end Spain wins". The Guardian wrote, "This will forever be recalled as Spain's golden era, unrivaled by any team.".

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup

On 30 July 2011 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup preliminary draw, Spain were placed in Group I. They commence their qualifying campaign in late 2012 in a group that features France, Belarus, Georgia and Finland[30] They started their World Cup campaign with a hard fought away victory over Georgia in which Roberto Soldado scored in the 85th minute after the Georgians defended with 11 players in all 90 minutes of the game.

Style of play

Main article: Tiki-taka

We have the same idea as each other. Keep the ball, create movement around and off the ball, get in the spaces to cause danger.

—Xabi Alonso (Spanish midfielder)[31]

Tiki-taka is above all, a systems approach to football founded upon team unity and a comprehensive understanding in the geometry of space on a football field.[32]

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,"[33] a "short passing style in which the ball is worked carefully through various channels,"[34] and a "nonsensical phrase that has come to mean short passing, patience and possession above all else."[35] The style involves roaming movement and positional interchange amongst midfielders, moving the ball in intricate patterns,[36] and sharp, one or two-touch passing.[31] 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.[37] Commentators have contrasted tiki-taka with "route one physicality"[33] and with the higher-tempo passing of Arsène Wenger's 2007–08 Arsenal side, which employed Cesc Fàbregas as the only channel between defence and attack.[34] Tiki-taka is associated with flair, creativity, and touch,[38] but can also be taken to a "slow, directionless extreme" that sacrifices effectiveness for aesthetics.[35]

Notable successes

Tiki-taka has been used successfully by the Spanish national team to win UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

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.[35] 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 ("The Red Fury"), and the tiki-taka style of the contemporary Spanish team, which focused on a collective, short-passing, technical and possession-based game.[39]

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."[37]

Colours

Spain's traditional kit is a red jersey with yellow trim, accompanied by dark blue shorts and socks while their current away kit is a sky blue shirt with a stripe in the chest area and navy trim accompanied by white shorts with navy trim. The colour of the socks altered throughout the 1990s from black to the same colour as the blue shorts. Spain's kits have been produced by manufacturers including Adidas (from 1982 until 1984), Le Coq Sportif (from 1984 until 1992) and Adidas once again (since 1992).

Their current home kit designed by a team led by Daniel Newlan at Adidas, is a lighter red than usual along with light blue shorts and red socks, similar to the older 2006 kit.[40] A third kit is sometimes used and is usually blue with red and yellow trim. 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 FIFA 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.

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches:

Match Date: October 12th and 16
Opposition:  Belarus &  France .
Caps and goals are correct as of September 11, 2012.

# Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Iker Casillas (captain) (1981-05-20) 20 May 1981 (age 43) 141 0 Spain Real Madrid
12 1GK Víctor Valdés (1982-01-14) 14 January 1982 (age 42) 9 0 Spain Barcelona
23 1GK Pepe Reina (1982-08-31) 31 August 1982 (age 42) 26 0 England Liverpool
2 2DF Raúl Albiol (1985-09-04) 4 September 1985 (age 39) 37 0 Spain Real Madrid
3 2DF Nacho Monreal (1986-02-26) 26 February 1986 (age 38) 9 0 Spain Málaga
5 2DF Juanfran (1985-01-09) 9 January 1985 (age 39) 3 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
15 2DF Sergio Ramos (1986-03-30) 30 March 1986 (age 38) 96 6 Spain Real Madrid
17 2DF Álvaro Arbeloa (1983-01-17) 17 January 1983 (age 41) 44 0 Spain Real Madrid
18 2DF Jordi Alba (1989-03-21) 21 March 1989 (age 35) 13 2 Spain Barcelona
4 3MF Javi Martínez (1988-09-02) 2 September 1988 (age 36) 8 0 Germany Bayern Munich
6 3MF Andrés Iniesta (1984-05-11) 11 May 1984 (age 40) 75 10 Spain Barcelona
8 3MF Xavi (1980-01-25) 25 January 1980 (age 44) 118 12 Spain Barcelona
10 3MF Cesc Fàbregas (1987-05-04) 4 May 1987 (age 37) 73 11 Spain Barcelona
13 3MF Beñat (1987-02-19) 19 February 1987 (age 37) 3 0 Spain Betis
14 3MF Xabi Alonso (1981-11-25) 25 November 1981 (age 43) 105 15 Spain Real Madrid
16 3MF Sergio Busquets (1988-07-16) 16 July 1988 (age 36) 49 0 Spain Barcelona
20 3MF Santi Cazorla (1984-12-13) 13 December 1984 (age 40) 49 8 England Arsenal
21 3MF David Silva (1986-01-08) 8 January 1986 (age 38) 68 18 England Manchester City
22 3MF Jesús Navas (1985-11-21) 21 November 1985 (age 39) 21 2 Spain Sevilla
7 4FW David Villa (1981-12-03) 3 December 1981 (age 43) 84 52 Spain Barcelona
9 4FW Fernando Torres (1984-03-20) 20 March 1984 (age 40) 100 31 England Chelsea
11 4FW Pedro (1987-07-28) 28 July 1987 (age 37) 21 7 Spain Barcelona
19 4FW Roberto Soldado (1985-05-27) 27 May 1985 (age 39) 6 4 Spain Valencia

Recent callups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up
GK David de Gea (1990-11-07) 7 November 1990 (age 34) 0 0 England Manchester United v.  Serbia, May 26, 2012
DF Gerard Piqué (1987-02-02) 2 February 1987 (age 37) 48 4 Spain Barcelona v.  Georgia, September 11, 2012
DF Álvaro Domínguez (1989-05-15) 15 May 1989 (age 35) 2 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach v.  South Korea, May 30, 2012
DF Carles Puyol (1978-04-13) 13 April 1978 (age 46) 99 3 Spain Barcelona v.  Venezuela, February 29, 2012
DF Andoni Iraola (1982-06-22) 22 June 1982 (age 42) 7 0 Spain Athletic Bilbao v.  Venezuela, February 29, 2012
MF Juan Mata (1988-04-28) 28 April 1988 (age 36) 19 6 England Chelsea UEFA Euro 2012
MF Bruno Soriano (1984-06-12) 12 June 1984 (age 40) 4 0 Spain Villarreal v.  South Korea, May 30, 2012
MF Javi García (1987-02-08) 8 February 1987 (age 37) 1 0 England Manchester City v.  South Korea, May 30, 2012
MF Isco (1992-04-21) 21 April 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Spain Málaga v.  Serbia, May 26, 2012
MF Thiago Alcântara (1991-04-11) 11 April 1991 (age 33) 3 0 Spain Barcelona v.  Venezuela, February 29, 2012
FW Fernando Llorente (1985-02-26) 26 February 1985 (age 39) 21 7 Spain Athletic Bilbao v.  Puerto Rico, August 15, 2012
FW Álvaro Negredo (1985-08-20)20 August 1985 (aged 26) 12 6 Spain Sevilla UEFA Euro 2012
FW Adrián (1988-01-08) 8 January 1988 (age 36) 2 1 Spain Atlético Madrid v.  South Korea, May 30, 2012
FW Iker Muniain (1992-12-19) 19 December 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Spain Athletic Bilbao v.  Venezuela, February 29, 2012

Previous squads

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup Record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Main article: Spain at the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter
Italy 1934 Quarter-Final 5th 3 1 1 1 4 3
France 1938 Withdrew
Brazil 1950 Fourth Place 4th 6 3 1 2 10 12
Switzerland 1954 Did Not Qualify
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962 Group Stage 12th 3 1 0 2 2 3
England 1966 Group Stage 10th 3 1 0 2 4 5
Mexico 1970 Did Not Qualify
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978 Group Stage 10th 3 1 1 1 2 2
Spain 1982 Round 2 12th 5 1 2 2 4 5
Mexico 1986 Quarter-Final 8th 5 3 1 1 11 4
Italy 1990 Round of 16 14th 4 2 1 1 6 4
United States 1994 Quarter-Final 6th 5 2 2 1 10 6
France 1998 Group Stage 17th 3 1 1 1 8 4
South Korea Japan 2002 Quarter-Final 5th 5 3 2 0 10 5
Germany 2006 Round of 16 9th 4 3 0 1 9 4
South Africa 2010 Champions 1st 7 6 0 1 8 2
Total 1 Title 13/19 56 28 12 16 88 59
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

UEFA European Championship

  Champions    Runners-up    Semi-final  

UEFA European Championship Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Withdrew
Spain 1964 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 4 2
Italy 1968 Did Not Qualify
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980 Group Stage 7th 3 0 1 2 2 4
France 1984 Runners-up 2nd 5 1 3 1 4 5
West Germany 1988 Group Stage 6th 3 1 0 2 3 5
Sweden 1992 Did Not Qualify
England 1996 Quarter Final 6th 4 1 3 0 4 3
Belgium Netherlands 2000 Quarter Final 5th 4 2 0 2 7 7
Portugal 2004 Group Stage 10th 3 1 1 1 2 2
Austria Switzerland 2008 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 12 2
Poland Ukraine 2012 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 12 1
Total 3 Titles 9/14 36 17 11 8 50 32

Summer Olympics

  Gold    Silver    Bronze  

Olympic Games Record
Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA
United Kingdom 1908 Did Not Enter
Sweden 1912
Belgium 1920 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 9 5
France 1924 Round 1 10th 1 0 0 1 0 1
Netherlands 1928 Quarter-Final 6th 3 1 1 1 9 9
Nazi Germany 1936 Withdrew
United Kingdom 1948 Did Not Qualify
Finland 1952
Australia 1956
Italy 1960
Japan 1964
Mexico 1968 Quarter-Final 5th 4 2 1 1 4 2
West Germany 1972 Did Not Qualify
Canada 1976 Round 1 13th 2 0 0 2 1 3
Soviet Union 1980 Round 1 12th 3 0 3 0 2 2
United States 1984 Did Not Qualify
South Korea 1988
Spain 1992 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 14 2
United States 1996 Quarter-Final 5th 4 2 1 1 5 7
Australia 2000 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 12 6
Greece 2004 Did Not Qualify
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012 Round 1 14th 3 0 1 2 0 2
Total 10/23 1 Gold Medal 37 19 8 10 56 39
  • Since 1968 Spain has been represented by its Under-23/21 squad, nonetheless their Olympic records are still included here.

FIFA Confederations Cup

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

FIFA Confederations Cup Record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did Not Qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003 Did Not Enter [41]
Germany 2005 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 2009 Third Place 3rd 5 4 0 1 11 4
Brazil 2013 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Third Place 2/9 5 4 0 1 11 4

Schedule

Head to head

Main article: Spain national football team head to head

All time results

Main article: Spain national football team results

Spain 2012-2013 Record

Wins Losses Draws GF GA
12 0 2 36 3
Date Opponent Result Score* Venue Competition
Results
29 February 2012  Venezuela W 5–0 Spain Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain International Friendly
26 May 2012  Serbia W 2–0 Switzerland AFG Arena, St.Gallen, Switzerland International Friendly
30 May 2012  South Korea W 4–1 Switzerland Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland International Friendly
3 June 2012  China W 1–0 Spain Estadio de La Cartuja, Sevilla, Spain International Friendly
10 June 2012  Italy D 1–1 Poland PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland UEFA Euro 2012 Group Stage
14 June 2012  Republic of Ireland W 4–0 Poland PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland UEFA Euro 2012 Group Stage
18 June 2012  Croatia W 1–0 Poland PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland UEFA Euro 2012 Group Stage
23 June 2012  France W 2–0 Ukraine Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine UEFA Euro 2012 Quarter-Finals
27 June 2012  Portugal* D 0–0 Ukraine Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine UEFA Euro 2012 Semi-Finals
1 July 2012  Italy W 4–0 Ukraine Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine UEFA Euro 2012 Final
15 August 2012  Puerto Rico W 2–1 Puerto Rico Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamón, Puerto Rico International Friendly
7 September 2012  Saudi Arabia W 5–0 Spain Estadio Municipal de Pasarón, Pontevedra, Spain International Friendly
11 September 2012  Georgia W 1–0 Georgia (country) Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
12 October 2012  Belarus W 4-0 Belarus Dynama Stadium, Minsk, Belarus 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
Forthcoming Fixtures
16 October 2012  France Spain Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
14 November 2012  Panama Panama Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama International Friendly
6 February 2013  Portugal Spain Vigo, Spain International Friendly
22 March 2013  Finland Spain 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
26 March 2013  France France Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
15 or 16 or 17 Jun 2013 TBD  Brazil 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
19 or 20 Jun 2013 TBD  Brazil 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
22 or 23 Jun 2013 TBD  Brazil 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
6 September 2013  Finland Finland Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Töölö, Finland 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
11 October 2013  Belarus Spain 2014 FIFA World Cup Q
15 October 2013  Georgia Spain 2014 FIFA World Cup Q

* Spain score always listed first

  • 1.^ Spain advance to the finals after beating Portugal on penalties 4 - 2

Honours

File:Triplete de España.JPG
The historic treble by the Spanish national team.
This is a list of honours for the senior Spanish national team

FIFA World Cup

  • Winners (1): 2010
  • Fourth place (1): 1950

UEFA European Championship

FIFA Confederations Cup

  • Third place (1): 2009

Summer Olympics

Other Awards

  • Winners (1): 2010
  • Winners (1): 2011
  • Holders (5): 11 June 1961 – 31 May 1962, 12 January 1972 – 2 May 1973, 18 June 1986 - 22 June 1986, 28 March 2001 - 27 March 2002, 11 July 2010 - 7 September 2010
  • Winners (1): 2010

Records

Worldwide

Most consecutive games undefeated
35 (2007–2009) (shared with  Brazil between 1993–1996)
Most consecutive wins achieved by an international coach from debut
13 – Vicente del Bosque
Most shootouts in one World Cup by one team
2 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup (shared with  Argentina at the 1990 FIFA World Cup)
Highest number of points in World Cup qualification
30 out of 30 points (2008–2009)

Nationwide

Most international caps
140 – Iker Casillas
Most international goals
52 - David Villa
Most goals scored in one season
13 – David Villa (2008–2009)
Most consecutive games ended with at least one goal
6 – David Villa
Top scorer in World Cup finals
8 – David Villa
Most goals scored in one World Cup
5 – Emilio Butragueño (1986) & David Villa (2010)
Most goals scored in consecutive matches at World Cup
4 – David Villa (2010)
Top scorer in European Championship finals
5 – Fernando Torres
Most goals scored in one European Championship
4 – David Villa (2008)

35-match undefeated streak (2007–2009)

Date Opponent Result Venue Type
2007
7 February  England 1–0 Old Trafford, Manchester International Match
24 March  Denmark 2–1 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
28 March  Iceland 1–0 Iberostar Stadium, Palma UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2 June  Latvia 2–0 Skonto Stadium, Riga UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
6 June  Liechtenstein 2–0 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
22 August  Greece 3–2 Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki International Match
8 September  Iceland 1–1 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
12 September  Latvia 2–0 Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
13 October  Denmark 3–1 Atletion, Aarhus UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
17 October  Finland 0–0 Olympic Stadium, Helsinki International Match
17 November  Sweden 3–0 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
21 November  Northern Ireland 1–0 Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2008
6 February  France 1–0 Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga International Match
26 March  Italy 1–0 Estadio Martínez Valero, Elche International Match
31 May  Peru 2–1 Estadio Nuevo Colombino, Huelva International Match
4 June  United States 1–0 El Sardinero, Santander International Match
10 June  Russia 4–1 Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck UEFA Euro 2008
14 June  Sweden 2–1 Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck UEFA Euro 2008
18 June  Greece 2–1 Red Bull Arena, Salzburg UEFA Euro 2008
22 June  Italy 0–0 Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna UEFA Euro 2008
26 June  Russia 3–0 Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna UEFA Euro 2008
29 June  Germany 1–0 Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna UEFA Euro 2008 Final
20 August  Denmark 3–0 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen International Match
6 September  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 Nueva Condomina, Murcia 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 September  Armenia 4–0 Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 October  Estonia 3–0 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
15 October  Belgium 2–1 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
19 November  Chile 3–0 El Madrigal, Villarreal International Match
2009
11 February  England 2–0 Estadio Sanchez Pizjuán, Seville International Match
28 March  Turkey 1–0 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
1 April  Turkey 2–1 Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 June  Azerbaijan 6–0 Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku International Match
14 June  New Zealand 5–0 Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
17 June  Iraq 1–0 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
20 June  South Africa 2–0 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Spain (7 Feb 2007 - 24 Jun 2009) shares with Brazil (16 Dec 1993 - 21 Jan 1996) the unbeaten record of 35 games. Brazil's loss at the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was by the under-23 (Olympic) team, but is officially counted as a loss of the national team. Otherwise the Brazil national team wouldn't lose until 30 May 1997 (2:4 vs Norway), thus extending it to 45 games.
  • Both Brazil and Spain lost their undefeated streak to members of the CONCACAF region. Brazil lost theirs to Mexico, and Spain lost theirs to the United States.

Top goalscorers

As of September 11, 2012, the ten highest scorers for Spain are:

# Player Career Goals Caps Average
1 David Villa 2005- 52 83 0.626
2 Raúl González 1996–2006 44 102 0.431
3 Fernando Torres 2003– 31 100 0.31
4 Fernando Hierro 1989–2002 29 89 0.326
5 Fernando Morientes 1998–2007 27 47 0.574
6 Emilio Butragueño 1984–1992 26 69 0.377
7 Alfredo Di Stéfano 1957–1961 23 31 0.742
8 Julio Salinas 1986–1996 22 56 0.411
9 Míchel 1985–1992 21 66 0.318
10 Telmo Zarra 1945–1951 20 20 1.000
  • Bold denotes players still playing international football.

Most capped Spain players

Main article: List of Spain international footballers
Iker Casillas is the most capped player in the history of the national team, with a record of 141

As of September 11, 2012 the ten players with the most caps for Spain are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Iker Casillas 2000– 141 0
2 Andoni Zubizarreta 1985–1998 126 0
3 Xavi Hernández 2000– 118 12
4 Xabi Alonso 2003– 105 15
5 Raúl González 1996–2006 102 44
6 Fernando Torres 2003– 100 31
7 Carles Puyol 2000– 99 3
8 Sergio Ramos 2005– 96 6
9 Fernando Hierro 1989–2002 89 29
10 David Villa 2005– 84 52
  • Bold denotes players still playing international football.

Biggest wins

Scores from 6-0 to up

Best Results by Spain
Date Match Round Result Difference
1 May 21, 1933  Spain –  Bulgaria Friendly 13 – 0 +13
2 December 21, 1983  Spain –  Malta France 1984 EURO qualification 12 – 1 +11
3 March 11, 1934  Spain –  Portugal Italy 1934 World Cup qualification 9 – 0 +9
December 19, 1990  Spain –  Albania Sweden 1992 EURO qualification
March 27, 1999  Spain –  Austria BelgiumNetherlands 2000 EURO qualification
June 5, 1999  Spain –  San Marino BelgiumNetherlands 2000 EURO qualification
4 September 8, 1999  Spain –  Cyprus BelgiumNetherlands 2000 EURO qualification 8 – 0 +8
5 April 14, 1929  Spain –  France Friendly 8 – 1 +7
November 24, 1971  Spain –  Cyprus Belgium 1972 EURO qualification 7 – 0
6 May 30, 1928  Spain –  Mexico Netherlands1928 S.O. 1/8 7 – 1 +6
June 1, 1952  Spain –  Republic of Ireland Friendly 6 – 0
November 1, 1952  Spain –  Romania 1964 European Nations' Cup Q 6 – 0
October 15, 1969  Spain –  Finland 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification Q 6 – 0
September 6, 1995  Spain –  Cyprus UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying Q 6 – 0
March 31, 1999  Spain –  San Marino UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Q 6 – 0
October 12, 2005  Spain –  San Marino 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7 Q 6 – 0
June 9, 2009  Spain –  Azerbaijan Friendly 6 – 0
June 8, 2010  Spain –  Poland Friendly 6 – 0
September 6, 2011  Spain –  Liechtenstein UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group I 6 – 0

Heaviest defeats

Scores from 5-0 and up

Worst Results by Spain
Date Match Round Venue Result Difference
1 June 4, 1928  Spain –  Italy Netherlands 1928 S. Olympics Quarter-Final replay Netherlands  A  1 – 7 –6
December 9, 1931  Spain –  England Friendly England  A 
2 July 13, 1950  Spain –  Brazil Brazil 1950 FIFA World Cup Round 2 Brazil  A  1 – 6 −5

FIFA World Ranking History

YR|M January February March April May June July August September October November December
1993 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 13º (50) 14º (52) 7º (55) 7º (57) 5º (57)
1994 -- 6º (56) 6º (55) 7º (55) 9º (54) 5º (55) 6º (59) -- 6º (59) 6º (59) 5º (60) 2º (61)
1995 -- 2º (61) -- 3º (61) 3º (61) 3º (60) 3º (58) 3º (58) 6º (59) 2º (60) 3º (61) 4º (59)
1996 4º (59) 4º (60) -- 6º (58) 6º (57) -- 8º (59) 7º (58) 10º (57) 10º (57) 8º (59) 8º (60)
1997 -- 7º (60) -- 4º (61) 5º (61) 3º (62) 2º (63) 2º (63) 6º (61) 2º (65) 3º (62) 11º (59)
1998 -- 23º (55) 25º (55) 9º (57) 15º (56) -- 14º (60) 14º (59) 14º (58) 16º (58) 15º (58) 15º (58)
1999 9º (703) 9º (706) 9º (704) 8º (720) 8º (724) 6º (732) 8º (714) 7º (713) 4º (757) 4º (767) 4º (758) 4º (753)
2000 4º (753) 4º (751) 4º (747) 4º (743) 4º (736) 4º (728) 4º (744) 5º (743) 5º (740) 5º (745) 6º (742) 7º (735)
2001 7º (734) 7º (732) 7º (727) 7º (725) 6º (724) 6º (733) 6º (715) 8º (716) 6º (730) 6º (730) 7º (731) 7º (730)
2002 7º (730) 7º (727) 7º (728) 8º (715) 8º (713) -- 4º (774) 3º (775) 3º (774) 3º (779) 3º (779) 3º (779)
2003 3º (780) 3º (783) 2º (780) 2º (785) 2º (784) 3º (762) 3º (755) 3º (748) 3º (767) 3º (777) 3º (785) 3º (798)
2004 3º (798) 3º (795) 3º (791) 3º (790) 3º (784) 3º (785) 3º (792) 3º (790) 3º (788) 4º (774) 4º (755) 5º (765)
2005 5º (764) 5º (764) 5º (759) 7º (755) 8º (752) 9º (747) 8º (744) 8º (739) 8º (750) 8º (764) 6º (771) 5º (768)
2006 5º (768) 6º (765) 6º (763) 5º (759) 5º (756) -- 7º (1.309) 7º (1.309) 10º (1.255) 10º (1.198) 12º (1.154) 12º (1.154)
2007 12º (1.154) 10º (1.161) 10º (1.161) 9º (1.237) 9º (1.238) 7º (1.273) 9º (1.144) 8º (1.165) 7º (1.178) 6º (1.226) 4º (1.349) 4º (1.349)
2008 4º (1.349) 4º (1.352) 4º (1.355) 4º (1.319) 4º (1.323) 4º (1.353) 1º (1.557) 1º (1.557) 1º (1.565) 1º (1.643) 1º (1.657) 1º (1.663)
2009 1º (1.663) 1º (1.693) 1º (1.666) 1º (1.729) 1º (1.729) 1º (1.761) 2º (1.590) 2º (1.590) 2º (1.588) 2º (1.629) 1º (1.622) 1º (1.627)
2010 1º (1.627) 1º (1.642) 1º (1.602) 2º (1.565) 2º (1.565) -- 1º (1.883) 1º (1.883) 1º (1.824) 1º (1.881) 1º (1.920) 1º (1.887)
2011 1º (1.887) 1º (1.887) 1º (1.880) 1º (1.857) 1º (1.857) 1º (1.871) 1º (1.855) 2º (1.563) 1º (1.605) 1º (1.624) 1º (1.564) 1º (1.564)
2012 1º (1.564) 1º (1.566) 1º (1.561) 1º (1.442) 1º (1.442) 1º (1.456) 1º (1.691) 1º (1.605) 1º (1.617) -- -- --
█ FIFA World Ranking #1

Home stadium

Main article: Spain national football team results § Venues in Spain

Spain does not have a national stadium as such, though major qualifying matches are usually played at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. Other large grounds used include the Estadio Vicente Calderón, also in Madrid, and the Mestalla in Valencia. Spain are unbeaten in competitive matches played at the Calderón. Some international friendlies are played in these larger stadia, as well as the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville.

Other friendly matches, as well as qualifying fixtures against less glamorous opponents are played in provincial stadia. Ground recently used include the Riazor in La Coruña, the Estadio Nueva Condomina in Murcia, the Estadio Carlos Belmonte in Albacete and the Estadio Romano in Mérida. Occasionally, matches are played off mainland Spain; their final UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Northern Ireland was played at the Estadio Gran Canaria in Las Palmas, on the Canary Islands.

In their final Euro 2012 qualifier against Scotland, Alicante staged their first Spain International for 20 years.

Spain's historical kits

Collections of kits used by La Furia Roja

1920-21
1921-22
1922-24
1924-31
1931-36
1936-38
1938-45
1945-47
1947-59
1959-81
1981-83
1984-86
1986-89
1990-91
1994-95
1996-97
1998-99
2000-02
2002-04
2004-06
2006-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-Current

Managers

See also: List of Spain national football team managers

Songs for competitions

Some Spanish groups or singers have made songs to encourage the national football team for a competition:

Series Anthem / Song Performer(s) Writer(s) /
Producer(s)
1998 FIFA World Cup "Quiero Estar Contigo" Carlos Domenech & Spanish team Rosana Arbelo
UEFA Euro 2000 "Cien mil voces" Spanish team Warner Music
2002 FIFA World Cup "Vivimos La Selección" Operación Triunfo Kike Santander
UEFA Euro 2004 "Sírvame una Copita" Café Quijano Warner Music
2006 FIFA World Cup "Listos para Ganar" Indras Vale Music
UEFA Euro 2008 "Pasar de cuartos" Pignoise Warner Music
2010 FIFA World Cup "Looking For Paradise" Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sanz ft. Alicia Keys
UEFA Euro 2012 "No hay 2 sin 3" Cali & El Dandee ft. David Bisbal Universal Music

See also

References

  1. ^ BBC (17 June 2010). ""La Roja" from Miguel, Spain". Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  2. ^ "La Roja lean to the left". FIFA. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 4 ‎January 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ a b c Since 1992, squads for Football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the international team.
  4. ^ "La red social de aficionados de la Selección Española". Juegalaroja.com. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Otro junio de ilusión: todos con la Roja [[:Template:Es icon]]". Notas de fútbol. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 4 ‎January 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  6. ^ "Euro 2012: Are Spain the best team of all time?". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  7. ^ Klinsmann, Jurgen. "Klinsmann: Spain win over Italy would make them team of century". BBC. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  8. ^ Carlisle, Jeff. "Why this Spain side is all-time best". ESPN. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  9. ^ Hayward, Paul (23 June 2002). "Korean miracle spoilt by refereeing farce". Telegraph. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Why Spain were anything but boring". CBC.ca. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 4 ‎January 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ "Euro 2008 Final Preview: Germany vs Spain". 29 June 2008. Retrieved ‎13 ‎January ‎2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ "Germany 0–1 Spain". BBC Sport. London. 29 June 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  13. ^ Spanish players named in the team of the tournament were: goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas, defenders Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, midfielders Xavi, Cesc Fàbregas, Andrés Iniesta, Marcos Senna and strikers David Villa and Fernando Torres.
  14. ^ "Spain appoint Del Bosque". Sky Sports. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 4 ‎January 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ "Villa, mejor goleador de la selección en un año natural" (in Spanish). Marca.com. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  16. ^ "Spain Hotshot David Villa Delighted With Goal Against England". Goal.com. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 4 ‎January 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. ^ "Spain Finish Third In Confederations Cup After Thrilling Finale Against South Africa". Goal.com. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 4 ‎January 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "South Africa place secured". ESPN. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  19. ^ "Perfect record intact". ESPN. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  20. ^ "Forlan and Muller strike gold". FIFA. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  21. ^ a b Smith, Ben (10 June 2012). "Euro 2012: Spain 1–1 Italy". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  22. ^ a b c d Chase, Graham (14 June 2012). "Spain 4–0 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  23. ^ a b Smith, Ben (18 June 2012). "Croatia 0–1 Spain". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  24. ^ a b Sanghera, Mandeep (23 June 2012). "Spain 2–0 France". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  25. ^ Rostance, Tom (21 June 2012). "Czech Republic 1–0 Portugal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Smith, Ben (27 June 2012). "Portugal 0–0 Spain". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  27. ^ a b c d "Spain claim historic win". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  28. ^ Atkin, John (1 July 2012). "Double-winning Del Bosque matches Schön feat". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  29. ^ Atkin, John (2 July 2012). "Del Bosque reflects on 'historic win' for Spain". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  30. ^ "The Preliminary Draw results in full". FIFA. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  31. ^ a b Ladyman, Ian (8 July 2010). "Beat Spain? It's hard enough to get the ball back, say defeated Germany". London: Mail Online. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  32. ^ Davies, Jed C. (16 July 2012). "Systems Football: The Basics – Tiki-Taka / Totaal-Voetball". EPLindex. London. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  33. ^ a b Marcotti, Gabriele (14 April 2008). "New coaching breed gives heart to Spain". The Times. London. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  34. ^ a b Hynter, David (10 June 2008). "Fábregas takes positive view, from the bench". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  35. ^ a b c Lowe, Sid (2 July 2008). "The definitive story of how Aragonés led Spain to Euro 2008 glory". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  36. ^ Pearce, Jonathan (29 June 2008). "If Spain can reign it will be so good for the old game". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  37. ^ a b Honigstein, Raphael (8 July 2010). "Why Spain were anything but boring". CBC.ca. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  38. ^ Clegg, Jonathan; Espinoza, Javier (31 March 2010). "Fantasy football comes alive". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  39. ^ Lowe, Sid (9 July 2010). "Spain's "Tiki-taka" style dominates". SI.com. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  40. ^ Royal Spanish Football Federation Home Jersey[dead link‍]
  41. ^ As 2nd in the FIFA World Rankings at the time

Squads

Titles

Preceded by European Champions
1964 (First title) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Champions
2008 (Second title)
2012 (Third title) 		Incumbent
Preceded by World Champions
2010 (First title) 		Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by FIFA Team of the Year
2008–2011 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Prince of Asturias Award for Sports
2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Laureus World Team of the Year
2011 		Succeeded by

Template:FIFA Worldcup Host nations

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