Dan Childs: Spanish success looks set to continue

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One of the most frustrating aspects of football is that the best teams are often unsuccessful, but there can be absolutely no doubt that Spain were worthy winners of the 2026 World Cup.

Luis de la Fuente's side saved their most accomplished performance for the semi-final against France when they outclassed a side packed with attacking quality.

They passed a very different test against Argentina, whose World Cup final gameplan was to defend and resist with every fair and foul means at their disposal.

Teamwork made the dream work

Shortly before Spain were handed the trophy it was revealed that Rodri had won the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament, but Spanish success was built on true teamwork rather than individual brilliance.

There wasn't a Spanish player among the top six goalscorers or the top 12 on the assists charts, but some of the team statistics tell a different story.

Spain set a new record of seven World Cup clean sheets which was three more than any other team could muster.

Their average possession figure of 64 per cent was second only to Germany and they topped a string of metrics including 271 touches in opposition box, a total of 54 corners, 597.5 average successful passes per game and 6.1 average possession regains in the final third.

La Roja did it the hard way

All that was done despite having to come through a tough section of the draw.

Spain were second on the Fifa rankings at the start of the tournament and their success required victories over four top-ten ranked teams – Portugal (5), Belgium (9), France (3) and Argentina (1).

Of the other teams who made it through to the final four, each of them overcame only one top-ten ranked team and England's solitary success of that stature came in Saturday's bonkers 6-4 triumph over France in the third-place playoff.

Like so many World Cup winning teams of the past, Spain had to move on from a slow start to the tournament.

They were 1-9 favourites to win their opening game against Cape Verde but were slow into their stride and were denied by a combination of intelligent defending plus a string of saves from inspired goalkeeper Vozinha.

Lamine Yamal was fit enough only for a substitute's role against Cape Verde as he built up his fitness following a hamstring injury.

He started all of the seven matches that followed, but had a modest overall impact and his only goal came in the 4-0 group stage success over Saudi Arabia.

However, Yamal came up with a huge moment in the semi-final by winning the deadlock-breaking penalty from the unsuspecting Lucas Digne and, like all of his teammates, was more than happy to work his socks off for the good of the collective.

Rodri won the Golden Ball awardCredit: Getty Images

Magnificent midfield was the key to success

Spain were especially strong in midfield and owed a lot to Rodri, who was back to the player who drove them on to success at Euro 2024.

Rodri's average accurate passes per game stood at 93.70 - the second highest in the tournament - but his off-the-ball work was also key with 26 tackles made.

His contribution over eight games in the space of 35 days was remarkable for a player who sustained a serious ACL injury while playing for Manchester City in September 2024 and made just 24 Premier League appearances over his last two seasons.

Rodri's partnership with Fabian Ruiz was a key aspect of La Roja's success and there was high-quality midfield back-up from the bench. Pedri and Mikel Merino often came into the fray and helped the team to maintain their level of performance.

Spain's midfield excellence could be pin-pointed as the biggest driver of their success but there were important contributions from five-goal attacker Mikel Oyarzabal plus the creative spark of attacking midfielder Dani Olmo. And the centre-back partnership of 32-year-old Aymeric Laporte and 19-year-old Pau Cubarsi worked out incredibly well despite the players being at opposite ends of their careers.

Youthful group could continue to contend

Golden Glove winner Unai Simon was an assured presence between the sticks and full-backs Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella enhanced their reputations with a string of superb, high-energy performances.

Porro started the tournament as the back-up right-back, but soon won over De la Fuente and contributed key goals in the victories over Austria and France.

Cucurella excelled with his defensive and attacking work and was playing like a left-winger for large spells of the final, when his defensive duties were few and far between.

The concern for rival nations is that there is scope for Spain to get even better.

Youth is on their side as 23 of the 26 players are 30 or younger, plus they have talented teenagers Yamal and Cubarsi who seem to have the world at their feet.

It is also true that La Roja  are far from faultless and would be so much more effective if they could find a top-class centre-forward to take advantage of some of the outstanding approach play.

However, after flying under the radar for much of this summer, it would seem that Spain are gaining the market respect they undoubtedly deserve.

They have been installed as 4-1 joint-favourites, alongside France, to triumph at Euro 2028 and it is hard to quibble with that assessment.

Read more on the World Cup:

Football accumulator tips for Tuesday, July 21: Back our acca at 5-1

Familiar foes Spain, France and England jostle for Euro 2028 favouritism

Final 'best result of the tournament' for bookmakers

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