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Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday, and it was Ferran Torres who broke the deadlock to send La Roja to their third men's world title. The win is their 16th world or European trophy across men's and women's football in just five years — a number that demands respect from every corner of the game, including here in South Africa.
The scale of Spain's dominance is staggering. The men have now won the Nations League (2023), the European Championship (2024) and the World Cup (2026). The women claimed the World Cup in 2023 and back-to-back Nations Leagues in 2024 and 2025. At youth level, the under-19s alone have won five consecutive European titles from 2022 through to 2026. Spain are also the first nation to hold the men's and women's World Cup simultaneously.
Luis de la Fuente, appointed head coach in December 2022 after Spain's last-16 exit to Morocco in Qatar, has delivered three major trophies without ever having managed a big club. Football expert Guillem Balague described the appointment as a very risky decision, telling BBC Sport he did not think anyone expected De La Fuente to be so successful. The 65-year-old coach built his system on patience, respect and a deep familiarity with players he had guided through Spain's youth ranks for years.
Spain are now unbeaten in 38 consecutive matches across all competitions — the longest such run by any European or South American team in history. Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi both collected World Cup winners' medals at 19, pointing to another decade of Spanish dominance. The football world is watching a machine that simply does not stop.