, commonly referred to as , is the national
Football team of
Spain and is controlled by the .
Spain has a reputation for underachievement in the
FIFA World Cup , with their best finish being fourth place in
1950 despite often being among the pre-tournament favorites. They often start well, but struggle considerably in the later stages, which is frustrating given the team's enormous talent and diligence. Their only senior level tournament victory is the
1964 European Championship , which they hosted. They also won the gold medal when they hosted the
1992 Summer Olympics in
Barcelona , and in the
1999 World Youth Championship in
Nigeria . Their current
FIFA Ranking is 9th.
Spain made their international football debut in 1920 at the
Olympic Games in
Belgium and won with the silver medal. They played their first home international in 1921, beating
Belgium 2-0 in
Bilbao . They also became the first non-
British side to beat
England when they won 4-3 in a friendly in
Madrid in 1929. Spain however did not enter the 1930 World Cup. Four years later, Spain qualified for the second World Cup in Italy in 1934 and progressed to the quarterfinals where the lost to Italy 1-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. The Spanish Civil War and World War II did not see Spain play a competitive match until the 1950 World Cup.
the four group winners playing in a single group. The other winners were Brazil, Uruguay, and Sweden. Early success in the tournement eluded them as they gained only one point after losing to Brazil and Sweden and drawing with Urugauy to win the tournament. The 1950 World cup would be Spain's best ever finish. After the 1950 World Cup Spain entered a period of football wildernes and did not make another major appearance until Euro 60.
Under French-Argentine coach Helenio Herrera, Spain came out of a period of wilderness to qualify for the first European Championship in 1960. At Euro 60, Spain entered into the eighth finals and beat Poland 7-2 on aggregate. However after a protest against the USSR, Spain was automatically knocked out of the competition.
In 1962
José Villalonga was appointed coach of Spain. Villalonga qualified Spain for the World Cup in 1962 but exited in the first round after facing a tough group 3 consisting of Brazil, Czecholovakia, and Mexico. Two years later they won the
European Championship . With a squad that included
Luis Suárez ,
Francisco Gento ,
Josep Fusté and
José Ángel Iribar , Spain beat
Romania ,
Northern Ireland and the
Republic Of Ireland in the qualifying rounds before hosting the semi-finals and final. In the semi-finals Spain beat highly favored
Hungary 2-1. In the final, Spain beat the
USSR 2-1 in front of a crowd of 125,000 at
The Bernabéu .
Jesus María Pereda put Spain ahead after just six minutes but they needed a late
Marcelino Martínez header to win it after
Galimzian Khusainov equalised with a free-kick.
As European Champions, Spain qualified for the 1966 World Cup with much of the 1964 squad under José Villalonga but failed to make an impression as they exited in the first round after losing to West Germany and Argentina but defeating Switzerland.
The departure of Villalonga put Spain into another period of wilderness with mixed results. In 1968 Spain qaulified for the European Championship in Italy the same year and finished outside the final four having been knocked out in the quarterfinals by England. After Euro 68 Spain did not qualify for another tournament until Euro 76.
Spain ended a period of wilderness with an impressive undefeated performance in their Euro 76 qualifying group which featured Romania, Scotland, and Denmark. Spain exited in the quarterfinals having been defeated by Germany 3-1 on aggregate.
The 1978 World Cup witnessed Spain comeback to their first world cup since 1966. Spain qualified having defeated Yugoslavia home and away only losing to Romania in Bucharest. In the final tournament Spain were drawn into group 3 with Brazil, Austria, and Sweden. Spain's fortune ended in the first round when they lost to Austria 2-1, drew with Brazil 0-0, and defeated Sweden 1-0.
Euro 80 saw Spain qualify for the first eight team European championship. After suprassing Romania, Yugoslavia, and Cyprus, Spain was drawn into group B with England, Italy, and Belgium. Spain proved to be the weakest side of the group as they gained only one point after a draw with Italy and losses to England and Belgium.
In 1976 Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. This edition of the World Cup featured twenty-four teams for the first time. Expectations were high for Spain as the host nation under coach José Santamaría. In the group stage, Spain was drawn into group 5 with Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, and Honduras. With pressure to perform well, Spain struggled through their group. On their first day of competition, Spain managed only a 1-1 draw with unfancied Honduras. They picked up momentum with an impressive 2-1 victory over Yugoslavia but were defeated 1-0 by Northern Ireland. Despite the defeat, Spain progressed to the second round. Spain was drawn into group B in the second round with West Germany and England. Spain's campaign ended when they were defeated by West Germany 2-1 and drew 0-0 with England. As disappointment swept the country, coach José Santamaría was sacked.
After a disappointing World Cup campaign on home soil, Spain were desperate to get back onto the world footballing stage. Former coach Miguel Muñoz who had temporarly coached Spain in 1969 returned to the national side. Spain topped
Euro 84 qualifying group 7 which consisted of Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Iceland, and Malta. Spain passed the qualifying stage unexpectedly, as they had to defeat Malta by a 11-0 scorline. They did with a 12-1 scoreline (after 3-1 in halftime). In the final tournament, Spain were dubbed as outsiders by bookmakers despite many talented players and a strong football league. Spain were drawn into group B with West Germany, Portugal, and Romania. In their first game, they drew 1-1 with underdogs Romania. Three days later they drew 1-1 again with Portugal. Spain topped the group with an impressive 1-0 victory over West Germany to avenge their defeat two years earlier. The semifinals paired Spain with darkhorses Denmark. After 1-1 at extra time Spain defeated Denmark 5-4 on penalties after Preben Elkjær shot over the bar. Going beyond anyone's expectations Spain reached the final to face the hosts and tournament favorites France. Led by captain
Michel Platini , France were tipped as heavy favorites yet Spain however were not shunned out having gone beyond anyone's expectations. Spain were defeated 2-0 after a goaless first half and finished a runners up to create their second best finish in European Championship history.
To build on their impressive Euro 84 performance, Muñoz qualified Spain for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Spain progressed in qualifying having topped group 7 with Scotland, Wales, and Iceland. Coach Muñoz took Spain to Mexico with a mixed squad of new and veteran players. Spain's group in the final tournament consisted of Brazil, Northern Ireland, and Algeria. Spain began the tournament nervously losing to Brazil 1-0. However, they progressed after 2-1 and 3-0 victories over Northern Ireland and Algeria respectively. Round 2 paired Spain with Denmark who topped their group from all three victories. In what was one of the strangest World Cup games, Spain defeated Denmark 5-1 with Emilio Butragueño scoring four goals. Spain progressed to the quarter-finals to face Belguim who had impressively defeated the USSR 4-3. Spain's quarter-final with Belgium finished 1-1 after extra time failed to produce a goal. Their 1986 campaign ended when they were defeated 5-4 on penalties. Despite their quarter-final exit, the squad of 1986 was the highest scoring Spanish team.
Spain's coach of Euro 84 and World Cup 1986 Miguel Muñoz, was kept 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 with West Germany, Italy, and Denmark. They began their tournament with a 3-2 victory over Denmark. However their luck ended when they were knocked out in the group stage after defeats respective 1-0 and 2-0 to Italy and West Germany.
The 90s began with Spain looking to perform well and compensate for poor performances at Euro 88 at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Spain's new coach Luis Suárez selected many new players including Manuel Jiménez, Genar Andrinúa, and Martín Vázquez. Spain qualified from a group consisting of Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Northern Ireland, and Malta. Before the tournament Spain looked impressive by going almost undefeated in their friendly and qualifier games. In the final tournament Spain was in group E with Belgium, Uruguay, and Korea Republic. Spain began with a less than expected 0-0 draw with Urugauy. They later defeated Korea 3-1 and avenged Belguim 2-1 after 1986. Spain's impressive first round performance was tarnished by a 2-1 defeat to Yugoslavia in the second round. As a reuslt Spain exited earlier than expected had disappointed their fans for not improving on their 1986 campaign.
Further disappointment followed when newly appointed coach Vicente Miera failed to qualify Spain for Euro 92 after finishing third in a group behind topsides France and Czechoslovakia. Vicente Miera did however lead Spain to the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Javier Clemente was appointed as Spain's coach in 1992 in hopes of bringing home a major international trophy. The 1994 World Cup was once again a testing ground for Spain's ability to perform well at the senior level. Spain qualified very impressively with nineteen points from twelve matches, a twenty three goal differential, and ranked as number five in Europe. In the final tournament Spain were drawn in Group C with Germany, Bolivia, and Korea Republic. The Spaniards were expected to easily progress to the second round alongside Germany. In their first game Spain drew with Korea 2-2 having given up a 2-0 lead. Three days later they drew 1-1 with Germany also giving up the lead. Spain qualified for the second round as expected with a 3-1 victory over Bolivia. Spain continued their success in the second round with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland. Their success ended with a controversial 2-1 defeat to Italy in the quarter-finals. A nasty and bloody foul committed by Mauro Tassotti towards
Luis Enrique left the Spanish midfielder's nose broken in the penalty box, but with no penalty call given, Robert Baggio would score the game winner for Italy in the last minutes. The 1994 campaign was seen as one of Spain's best despite the disappoinment. Spain were once again left searching for a performance beyond the quarter-finals.
Clemente was hoping to build on their impressive yet disappointing performance in 1994 to perform well at Euro 96. Spain qualified as expected with impressive results from their group consisting of Denmark, Belguim, Cyprus, Macedonia, and Armenia. The final tournament witnessed Spain in a group with France, Romania, and Bulgaria. Their first game once again proved to be below expectations as they failed to beat Bulgaria and drew 1-1. After Bulgaria, Spain faced what proved to be a very strong French side but fought to sluggish 1-1 draw. Spain confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over a weak Romanian squad. To their misery Spain once again fell in the quarter-finals, this time the hosts England on penalties.
In his second World Cup as Spain's coach, Clemente put his team through intensive training to try to put themselves as serious contenders to do well at the 1998 World Cup in France after yet another dismal performance at Euro 96. Many new rising stars such as
Raúl González and
Fernando Morientes were giving Spanish fans hope for the upcoming tournament. Despite falling in the world rankings to a record low before the World Cup, Spain went undefeated in their qualifying group with Yugoslavia and Czech Republic being the other contenders. Spain qualified with fourteen other European sides in the first ever thirty-two team World Cup. Group D consisted of Spain, Bulagria, Paraguay, and Nigeria, many considered this group to be the Group of Death of the entire tournament. In their first game against African powers Nigeria, Spain led 1-0 and 2-1 in each half with much superiority. However Nigeria amazingly turned the game around in the last twenty minutes and won 3-2 largely in part by an error made by all-time capped Spanish goalkeeper
Andoni Zubizarreta . This defeat left Spain's hopeful campaign in ruins and sent Javier Clemente searching for answers. Their second game was a minor improvement, but left Spanish fans disappointed once again as Spain could only manage a 0-0 draw with Paraguay. After only a point from their first two games, Spain needed to defeat Bulgaria for any realistic chance of progressing to the second round. In their last group game Spain fought valiantly to crush Bulgaria 6-1 hoping that goal differential would send them through, should Nigeria and Paraguay draw. Spain's hopes did not go as planned as Paraguay defeated Nigeria 3-1. Spain were eliminated in the first round with only four points and finished third behind Paraguay and Nigeria. This was by far one of the most disappointing Spanish campaigns in recent times.
After a 3-2 opening defeat to Cyprus in Euro 2000 qualifying Clemente was sacked and José Antonio Camacho was promptly appointed as coach. Camacho immediately turned Spain's campaign around and Spain won the rest of their games to qualify for Euro 2000. Once again Spain's hopes rested on a new coach a young players such as Raúl González, Fernando Morientes, Míchel Salgado, and Juan Carlos Valerón. In the final tournament Spain were in group C with Norway, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia. As always, Spain started their campaign with disappointment, losing 1-0 to Norway. But Spain got back into the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Slovenia. Their last game proved to be another nerve wreck as they looked to be going out of the tournament. Their last game was against balkan powerhouse Yugoslavia. Spain started the match nervously by going down 1-0 with a Yugoslavian goal from Milošević. Alfonso Pérez was able to put a goal back for Spain in the 38th minute ending the first half with a 1-1 score. However shortly after halftime Spain went down again 2-1 but made it 2-2 on 51 minutes with a goal by Pedro Munitis. Spain went down yet again 3-2 for the third time at 75 minutes. With only fifteen minutes left Spain desperately searched for an equalizer. After throwing every player forward Spain was still down 3-2, but at the 90th minute another Spanish goal from a late penalty by Gaizka Mendieta and a dramatic second goal by Alfonso Pérez in the dying seconds of stoppage time turned the game around making the final score 4-3 for Spain. Spain finished at the top of group C to book a quarterfinal clash with 1998 World Cup Champions, France. After a dramtic clash with Yugoslavia, Spain were confident in shocking the world champions. The game began with a dramatic first half with bombardment of both goals. The half ended 2-1 for France despite a late penalty for Spain which was missed by Raul. Despite a strong Spanish attack France held on to win and knock Spain out prematurely. Disappointment and saddness swept Spain as the team could not impress their fans and suffered yet another quarterfinal exit.
Spain hoped once again for a good World Cup impression in 2002 in the Far East. Qualifying went as expected for Spain as they topped an easy group consisting of Austria, Irael, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein. Under Camacho Spain hoped that lessons learned from Euro 2000 would bring them better luck. In the final tournament Spain were drawn into group B with Slovenia, Paraguay, and South Africa. This time Spain began the World Cup very strongly with 3-1 victories over Slovenia and Paraguay and a 3-2 victory over South Africa. Spain topped the group with nine points to face off a second round contest with the Republic of Ireland. Goals by Fernando Morientes for Spain and Robbie Keane for the Republic of Ireland led both teams to a penalty shootout. After several misses and scores from both sides, Spain came out on top with a 3-2 victory. Spain booked a quarterfinal berth with hosts Korea Republic who upset Italy in round two. Spanish fans were confident this was the year Spain was to progress beyond the quarterfinals in any major tournament since Euro 84. After a hard fought 120 minutes and disallowed goals, Spain faced another penalty shootout. Spain scored three penalties as did Korea. However Spain's worst nightmare became reality after Joaquín had his penalty saved. Korea scored their last two penalties through Ahn Jung-Hwan and Hong Myung-Bo to knock Spain out of the 2002 World Cup. Spanish fans were shocked by another successive quarterfinal exit.
At
Euro 2004 in Portugal, Spain were drawn into group A with
Portugal ,
Russia and
Greece . After coming into second after Greece in qualifying, Spain looked very strong. The Spanish team were touted as heavy favorites for the 2004 crown by the European media. They possessed new and fresh players such as Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso under new coach
Iñaki Sáez . Spain were also hoping that the tournaments proximity would contribute to their success. On
June 12th , Spain expectedly defeated
Russia , 1-0. Four days later Spain faced
Greece . Determined to win, Spain led the match until
Greece scored an equalizer and the match ended 1-1. In their last game against
Portugal , Spain needed to draw to qualify for the quarterfinals. However a goal from
Nuno Gomes faded Spain's hopes of advancing. The same day
Greece were defeated 2-1 by
Russia but moved ahead to claim second place on goal difference. As a result Spain were eliminated from Euro 2004 in the first round that consisted of the tournament's eventual finalists in Portugal and Greece. This exit was considered the most disappointing result since the 1998 World Cup. Iñaki Sáez was sacked only weeks later and replaced by Luis Aragonés.
Under Luis Aragonés, Spain struggled throughout the
2006 World Cup qualifying stage. Spain were in group 7 with Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Lithuania, and San Marino. Despite mixed results including five wins and draws, Spain qualified for a playoff spot with Slovakia. Spain qualified for the final tournament after defeating Slovakia 6-2 on aggregate. Many didn't know what to expect of Spain heading into Germany, despite almost failing to qualify, the Spanish side had many talented players. Spain were drawn into a group H with Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. Spain won their opening game over
Ukraine in a comfortable 4-0 result, with two goals from
David Villa and one each for
Fernando Torres and
Xabi Alonso . The first penalty of the tournament was awarded after
Vladislav Vaschuk was sent off for pulling on Torres. Spain won their second game against
Tunisia 3-1. A goal in the 8th minute through
Jawhar Mnari put Tunisia ahead, but Spain scored through
Raúl in the 71st min and Fernando Torres in the 76th min. Fernando Torres scored from the penalty spot in injury time to get his second goal in the game. Spain beat
Saudi Arabia by 1-0 in
Kaiserslautern on the
23 June . However Spain fell 3-1 in the second round by the more experienced
France team. Spanish fans once again faced a premature exit and a performance below expectations. Spain and
Brazil shared the 2006 FIFA Fair Play Award.
Spain's traditional kit was a red jersey with yellow trim with blue shorts and blue socks. Their change kit is a white jersey with white shorts and white socks. The kits are currently manufactured by
Adidas .
Spain started its qualifying round on
September 2 ,
2006 for
Euro 2008 by beating
Liechtenstein 4-0 in
Badajoz . But were then upset by
Northern Ireland 3-2 in
Belfast on
September 6 ,
2006 . A second straight defeat - a 2-0 loss to
Sweden - followed on
October 7 ,
2006 . However a 2-1 win against
Denmark on
March 24 ,
2007 in
Madrid along with a goal from
Andrés Iniesta giving Spain a 1-0 victory at home to
Iceland on
March 28 ,
2007 has put new life into Spain's campaign. On
June 2 they won 2-0 at Latvia and four days later they won against Liechtenstein 2-0. Both goals were scored by David Villa in that game.
- Matches include Quarterfinals or better from 1960 through 1976
-- Draws include knockout matches decided on Penalty Kicks
- USSR walk-over after Spain protest and withdrew from game.
- Group F:
- --- 4-0 Liechtenstein ( September 2 , 2006 )
- --- Northern Ireland 3-2 ( September 6 , 2006 )
- --- Sweden 2-0 , ( October 7 , 2006 )
- --- 2-1 Denmark ( March 24 , 2007 )
- --- 1-0 Iceland , ( March 28 , 2007 )
- --- Latvia 0-2 , ( June 2 , 2007 )
- --- Liechtenstein 0-2 ( June 6 , 2007 )
- --- Iceland 1-1 ( September 8 , 2007 )
- --- v Latvia ( September 12 , 2007 )
- --- Denmark v ( October 13 , 2007 )
- --- v Sweden ( November 17 , 2007 )
- --- v Northern Ireland ( November 21 , 2007 )
The following players named for Euro 2008 qualifying matches against
Latvia on
June 2 2007 and
Liechtenstein on
June 6 ,
2007 .
{Link without Title}
Caps and goals as of
June 6 2007 , included against
Liechtenstein .
The following players have all recently been called up to the Spain squad. Bracket shows last call-up time.
See Also: List of Spain international footballers
As of
June 6 ,
2007 , the ten players with the most
Caps for Spain are:
As of
June 6 ,
2007 , the twenty players with the most goals for Spain are:
- Francisco Bru , 1920
- Pedro Parages , 1923-1924
- Paulino Alcántara ,1951
- Ricardo Zamora , 1952
- Pedro Escartín Morán , 1952-1961
- Helenio Herrera , 1959-1962
- José Villalonga , 1962-1966
- Domingo Balmanya , 1966-1968
- Luis Molowny , 1969
- Miguel Muñoz , 1969, 1982-1988
- Ladislao Kubala , 1969-1980
- José Santamaria , 1980-1982
- Luis Suárez , 1988-1991
- Vicente Miera , 1991-1992
- Javier Clemente , 1992-1998
- José Antonio Camacho , 1998-2002
- Iñaki Sáez , 2002-2004
- Luis Aragonés , 2004-present
- ''see also List Of Spain National Football Team Managers and ''
Spain National Under-21 Football Team
Spain National Youth Football Team (Includes U-17, U-18, U-19, U-20)
