Spain squad head into the World Cup with a case few teams can match: Euro 2024 champions, unbeaten in 30 games, and talking like a side that expects to stay in the title conversation. Luis de la Fuente put the challenge bluntly at Spain’s training base: "Why can’t Spain win the World Cup?"
Mikel Merino added the mood around the group before the first match in Atlanta, saying Spain felt "100%." That confidence sits on a run that has stretched through Euro 2024 and into the build-up to the World Cup, with Spain taking down Croatia, Italy, Germany, France and England on the way to the Henri Delaunay Cup in Berlin.
Oyarzabal on Spain's core
Mikel Oyarzabal put the internal view in direct terms. "Maybe there was no crack, but look at it: we might not have had ‘names’ but we were convinced we had players who were top three in the world." He added, "There were none like us," and said the group heard doubts before people started "climbing on board."
That is the sharp edge in Spain’s buildup. Before Euro 2024, Rodri said, "I don’t think we were favourites at the Euros and we won it," and Spain used that outsider label to their advantage. Now the label has flipped, and the same squad is being asked to carry favourite status into a World Cup it has not yet played.
Morata, Rodri and the rise
The climb started with Álvaro Morata leading Spain as captain when they lifted the Henri Delaunay Cup in Berlin on 15 July 2024. A month before the tournament, Morata had already pointed to Rodri, Pedri, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal when asked about Spain’s level, and after the win he said, "Seems I have an eye for a player," then answered "Yes," when asked if Spain had world-class footballers.
Rodri’s Ballon d’Or later gave the squad another marker of how far it had moved. Fabián Ruiz has also won two Champions Leagues in a row, while David Raya and Joan García were described as the season’s best keepers in England and Spain. Spain do not arrive as a one-man team; the support around the core is deeper than it was when the questions were louder.
Atlanta opens the test
The first real measure comes in Atlanta, where Spain begin their World Cup campaign carrying a 30-game unbeaten run and the weight of expectation that came after Euro 2024. Oyarzabal, when asked what separates this group from the one that won the Euros, said, "Not much," which is the kind of answer teams give only when they believe the standard already exists.
That belief does not win a World Cup on its own. It does, however, explain why Spain’s players are talking like champions before the tournament starts, not like a side hoping to survive it.
