Spanish national football team has been ever present in FIFA World Cups. Since the start of FIFA World Cup back in 1930, a total of 21 tournaments have taken place. Spanish side have qualified for 15 of those and missed out on just 6 times. We look back at Spain’s record in World Cups.
Content Summary
Spain Football Team History in World Cups:
Royal Spanish Football Federation is governing body of football in Spain and they fall under the UEFA confederation. They play their home matches at different stadiums in Spain like Santiago Bernabeu and Wanda Metropolitan etc. Unlike other big nations in Europe, Spain do not have their own stadium to play international matches. They qualify from Europe for the FIFA World Cup and also play UEFA Euro.
Spain has only hosted FIFA World Cup once which was back in 1982 but they failed to reach knockout stages in that tournament. Out of the 15 world cup tournaments they have entered, they reach at least quarterfinal stage on 9 occasion. Their best result was in 2010 when they went on to become world champions for the very first time.
| TEAM | Spain men’s national football team |
|---|---|
| FIFA Code | ESP |
| Current FIFA Ranking | 7 |
| World Cup Appearances | 15 (first one in 1934 and latest one in 2018) |
| Best World Cup Result | Winners of 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| Nickname | La Furia Roja |
| Most capped player in World Cups | Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos (17 Matches) |
| Top goal scorers in World Cup | David Villa (9 goals in 3 world cups) |
| Most capped Spanish player | Sergio Ramos (180 matches) |
| Most goals by Spanish player | David Villa (59 goals) |
2010 World Cup Glory:
Before the FIFA World Cup 2010, Spain had only reached semifinal stage once which was back in 1950. They basically under achieved considering they were such a big footballing nation. However, it all changed in late 2000’s when Spanish team absolutely dominated world football for best part of 6-7 years where they not only won Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 but defeated Netherlands in the final of World Cup 2010 to win their first world cup as well.
many football experts regard that Spanish side as one of the best football teams of all times. They won 3 back to back international trophies and that has never been done before.
| WORLD CUP | POSITION | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Invited | did not enter |
| 1934 | Quarterfinals | Lost against Italy 0-1 |
| 1938 | Qualified | withdrew due to civil war |
| 1950 | Fourth Place | Lost against Sweden 1-3 |
| 1954 | did not qualify | |
| 1958 | did not qualify | |
| 1962 | Group Stage | lost 2 of the 3 group games |
| 1966 | Group Stage | lost 2 of the 3 group games |
| 1970 | did not qualify | |
| 1974 | did not qualify | |
| 1978 | Group Stage | Finished 3rd in their group |
| 1982 | Round 2 | Lost against West Germany |
| 1986 | Quarterfinal | Lost vs Belgium on penalties |
| 1990 | Round of 16 | Lost against Yugoslavia 2-1 |
| 1994 | Quarterfinal | |
| 1998 | Group Stage | |
| 2002 | Quarterfinal | |
| 2006 | Round of 16 | |
| 2010 | Champions | |
| 2014 | Group Stage | |
| 2018 | Round of 16 | |
| 2022 |
How many World Cups Spain has won ?
1 (2010 World Cup is the only world cup Spain ended as winners)
Which players have played most matches for Spain in world cups ?
Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos (17 matches)
Who is Spain’s all time leading goal scorer in world cups ?
David Villa (9 goals in 3 world cups)
When Spain made their world cup debut ?
Spain played in their first world cup back in 1934 in Brazil