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
1930	Did Not Enter								Did Not Enter
1934	Quarter-Finals	5th	3	1	1	1	4	3	2	2	0	0	11	1
1938	Withdrew								Withdrew
1950	Fourth Place	4th	6	3	1	2	10	12	2	1	1	0	7	3
1954	Did Not Qualify								3	1	1	1	6	4
1958	Did Not Qualify								4	2	1	1	12	8
1962	Group Stage	13th	3	1	0	2	2	3	4	3	1	0	7	4
1966	Group Stage	10th	3	1	0	2	4	5	3	2	0	1	5	2
1970	Did Not Qualify								6	2	2	2	10	6
1974	Did Not Qualify								5	2	2	1	8	6
1978	Group Stage	10th	3	1	1	1	2	2	4	3	0	1	4	1
1982	Second Group Stage	12th	5	1	2	2	4	5	Qualified as host
1986	Quarter-Finals	7th	5	3	1	1	11	4	6	4	0	2	9	8
1990	Round of 16	10th	4	2	1	1	6	4	8	6	1	1	20	3
1994	Quarter-Finals	8th	5	2	2	1	10	6	12	8	3	1	27	4
1998	Group Stage	17th	3	1	1	1	8	4	10	8	2	0	26	6
2002	Quarter-Finals	5th	5	3	2	0	10	5	8	6	2	0	21	4
2006	Round of 16	9th	4	3	0	1	9	4	12	6	6	0	25	5
2010	Champions	1st	7	6	0	1	8	2	10	10	0	0	28	5
2014	Group Stage	23rd	3	1	0	2	4	7	8	6	2	0	14	3
2018	Round of 16	10th	4	1	3	0	7	6	10	9	1	0	36	3
2022	Round of 16	13th	4	1	2	1	9	3	8	6	1	1	15	5
2026	to be determined								to be determined
2030	qualified as co-host								qualified as co-host
2034	To be determined								To be determined
Total	1 Title	16/25	67	31	17	19	108	75	125	87	26	12	291	81

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

Spain's World Cup record
First match	Spain 3–1 Brazil (27 May 1934; Genoa, Italy)
Biggest win	Spain 7–0 Costa Rica (23 November 2022; Doha, Qatar)
Biggest defeat	Brazil 6–1 Spain (13 July 1950; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Best result	Champions in 2010
Worst result	Group stage in 1962, 1966, 1978, 1998 and 2014

By match

Year	Round	Opponents	Score	Spain scorers
1934	Round of 16	Brazil	3–1	Iraragorri (2), Lángara
	Quarter-final	Italy	1–1
	Quarter-final	Italy	0–1
1950	Group 2	United States	3–1	Igoa, Basora, Zarra
		Chile	2–0	Basora, Zarra
		England	1–0	Zarra
	Final round	Uruguay	2–2	Basora (2)
		Brazil	1–6	Igoa
		Sweden	1–3	Zarra
1962	Group 3	Czechoslovakia	0–1
		Mexico	1–0	Peiró
		Brazil	1–2	Adelardo
1966	Group 2	Argentina	1–2	Pirri
		Switzerland	2–1	Sanchís, Amancio
		West Germany	1–2	Fusté
1978	Group 3	Austria	1–2	Dani
		Brazil	0–0
		Sweden	1–0	Asensi
1982	Group 3	Honduras	1–1	López Ufarte
		Yugoslavia	2–1	Juanito, Saura
		Northern Ireland	0–1
	Group B	West Germany	1–2	Zamora
	Group B	England	0–0
1986	Group D	Brazil	0–1
		Northern Ireland	2–1	Butragueño, Salinas
		Algeria	3–0	Calderé (2), Eloy
	Round of 16	Denmark	5–1	Butragueño (4), Goikoetxea
	Quarter-final	Belgium	1–1(4–5 p)	Señor
1990	Group E	Uruguay	0–0
		South Korea	3–1	Míchel (3)
		Belgium	2–1	Míchel, Górriz
	Round of 16	Yugoslavia	1–2	Salinas
1994	Group C	South Korea	2–2	Salinas, Goikoetxea
		Germany	1–1	Goikoetxea
		Bolivia	3–1	Guardiola, Caminero (2)
	Round of 16	Switzerland	3–0	Hierro, Luis Enrique, Begiristain
	Quarter-final	Italy	1–2	Caminero
1998	Group D	Nigeria	2–3	Hierro, Raúl
		Paraguay	0–0
		Bulgaria	6–1	Hierro, Luis Enrique, Morientes (2), Bachev (o.g.), Kiko
2002	Group B	Slovenia	3–1	Raúl, Valerón, Hierro
		Paraguay	3–1	Morientes (2), Hierro
		South Africa	3–2	Raúl (2), Mendieta
	Round of 16	Republic of Ireland	1–1 (3–2 p)	Morientes
	Quarter-final	South Korea	0–0 (3–5 p)
2006	Group H	Ukraine	4–0	Alonso, Villa (2), Fern. Torres
		Tunisia	3–1	Raúl, Fern. Torres (2)
		Saudi Arabia	1–0	Juanito
	Round of 16	France	1–3	Villa
2010	Group H	Switzerland	0–1
		Honduras	2–0	Villa (2)
		Chile	2–1	Villa, Iniesta
	Round of 16	Portugal	1–0	Villa
	Quarter-final	Paraguay	1–0	Villa
	Semi-final	Germany	1–0	Puyol
	Final	Netherlands	1–0	Iniesta
2014	Group B	Netherlands	1–5	Alonso
		Chile	0–2
		Australia	3–0	Villa, Fern. Torres, Mata
2018	Group B	Portugal	3–3	Costa (2), Nacho
		Iran	1–0	Costa
		Morocco	2–2	Isco, Aspas
	Round of 16	Russia	1–1 (3–5 p)	Ignashevich (o.g.)
2022	Group E	Costa Rica	7–0	Olmo, Asensio, Ferr. Torres (2), Gavi, Soler, Morata
		Germany	1–1	Morata
		Japan	1–2	Morata
	Round of 16	Morocco	0–0 (0–3 p)

By opponent

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Germany	5	1	2	2	5	6	−1
Brazil	5	1	1	3	5	10	−5
Paraguay	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3
Switzerland	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3
Chile	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1
South Korea	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2
Italy	3	0	1	2	2	4	−2
Honduras	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2
Portugal	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1
Belgium	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1
England	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1
Northern Ireland	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Yugoslavia	2	1	0	1	2	2	0
Sweden	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1
Netherlands	2	1	0	1	2	5	−3
Uruguay	2	0	2	0	2	2	0
Morocco	2	0	2	0	2	2	0
Costa Rica	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	6	1	+5
Denmark	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4
Ukraine	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Algeria	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Australia	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
United States	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Bolivia	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Slovenia	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Tunisia	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
South Africa	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Mexico	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Saudi Arabia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Iran	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Republic of Ireland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Russia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Nigeria	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1
Argentina	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Japan	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Czechoslovakia	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Austria	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
France	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2

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]

11 July 2010

20:30

Netherlands	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Spain
	Report	Iniesta 116'

Soccer City, Johannesburg

Attendance: 84,490

Referee: Howard Webb (England)


GK	1	Maarten Stekelenburg
RB	2	Gregory van der Wiel	111'
CB	3	John Heitinga	57' 109'
CB	4	Joris Mathijsen	117'
LB	5	Giovanni van Bronckhorst (c)	54'	105'
CM	6	Mark van Bommel	22'
CM	8	Nigel de Jong	28'	99'
RW	11	Arjen Robben	84'
AM	10	Wesley Sneijder
LW	7	Dirk Kuyt		71'
CF	9	Robin van Persie	15'
Substitutions:
MF	17	Eljero Elia		71'
MF	23	Rafael van der Vaart		99'
DF	15	Edson Braafheid		105'
Manager:
Bert van Marwijk


GK	1	Iker Casillas (c)
RB	15	Sergio Ramos	23'
CB	3	Gerard Piqué
CB	5	Carles Puyol	16'
LB	11	Joan Capdevila	67'
DM	16	Sergio Busquets
DM	14	Xabi Alonso		87'
CM	8	Xavi	120+1'
RW	6	Andrés Iniesta	118'
LW	18	Pedro		60'
CF	7	David Villa		106'
Substitutions:
MF	22	Jesús Navas		60'
MF	10	Cesc Fàbregas		87'
FW	9	Fernando Torres		106'
Manager:
Vicente del Bosque

Man of the Match:
Andrés Iniesta (Spain)

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
1	Sergio Ramos	17	2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018
3	Andoni Zubizarreta	16	1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998
3	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

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

External links

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.

[1] Hayward, Paul (July 11, 2010). "World Cup 2010: Spain survive brutal final to become champions". The Guardian.

[2] "History of the Spain National Team (Part 11): The 1950 World Cup in Brazil | www.rfef.es/en".

[3] "FACTBOX - Spain's 35 match unbeaten run". Reuters. 2009-06-20.

[4] "Iniesta: I'm privileged to have made so many people happy". MARCA in English. July 10, 2020.

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v t e Spain national football team
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v t e Countries at the FIFA World Cup
Team appearances All-time table
AFC	Australia² China Indonesia¹ Iran Iraq Japan Kuwait North Korea Qatar Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates
CAF	Algeria Angola Cameroon DR Congo¹ Egypt Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa Togo Tunisia
CONCACAF	Canada Costa Rica Cuba El Salvador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States
CONMEBOL	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay
OFC	New Zealand
UEFA	Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic¹ Denmark East Germany³ England France Germany¹ Greece Hungary Iceland Israel² Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia¹ Scotland Serbia¹ Slovakia¹ Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
¹ Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s). ² Have been member of multiple confederations. ³ Team and national federation no longer exist.