Experts agree: Spain is set to become the next soccer dynasty thanks to team’s youth and experience
Spain won the Euros two years ago, and are still celebrating after winning their second World Cup on Sunday, but many think this is just the beginning.
The reign in Spain doesn’t just fall mainly on the plain. It falls all over Europe, and across the world. The Spaniards are still celebrating after earning their second World Cup star following their complete domination of Argentina, and we might be in the midst of what could a golden generation which could last for a long time.
Second star, sixteen years later
Before we look ahead, let’s look back. Spain already had what you could call an era of dominance in world soccer. Their stretch from 2008 to 2012 saw them win two straight Euros and a World Cup in between. Legends like Carles Puyol, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez led this team to the most successful stretch the country had ever seen, until now perhaps.
Fast forward 14 years, and Spain are back on top, not just as World Cup winners but as the reigning Euro champions as well. On top of that they won the UEFA Nations League in 2023, and finished runners up last year. In four years in charge, manager Luis de la Fuente has transformed this team into a power house that is in the running for each and every tournament they enter.
The domination displayed over the last month and a half during the World Cup was something rarely seen, if ever. First let’s start with the defense. A brick wall of a back line that conceded a record setting one goal in the entire tournament. A tournament which had one extra round and one extra game, mind you. Seven clean sheets in eight matches. A record of 650 World Cup minutes without conceding a goal, dating back to the the the group stages of the Qatar World Cup four years ago.
De la Fuente’s different ways to win
Then we talk about the midfield. Captain Rodri was the engine that powered the midfield, winning back the ball, keeping possession and bringing a calm and tranquility against the likes of juggernauts like France, and Argentina. Fabian, Dani Olmo, and Alex Baena played massive roles in the midfield. Not to mention Lamine Yamal on the right side, who in all reality had a disappointing World Cup personally, scoring just one goal and failing to register an assists.
He and Nico Williams were the driving forces behind Spain’s run to the final in the Euros two years ago. Yamal was 16 during most of that tournament, while Nico was 21, leading Spain down each flank and totaling 3 goals and 5 assists between the two players. Both of those players came into this tournament carrying injuries, but that didn’t matter. Spain and Luis de la Fuente came up with other game plans, and other ways to win games. They kept the ball. They moved it from side to side, frustrating teams that want to have the possession, that want to attack goal and want to create chances into spending all of their energy chasing after the ball.
They showed they can win in any number of ways, and that’s a scary thing for opponents in a knockout style tournament. As you go deeper and deeper into the knockout stages, you are certain to encounter teams that are better at some things than others. Some are more direct. Some like to keep the ball. Some like to drop back and put eleven players behind the ball, and others who play long balls from the back looking for quick strike goals over the top of the defense. Spain saw all of that, and they didn’t just deal with it, they exploited each of their opponents systems.
Young stars sticking around
The scary part, is this may just be the beginning. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are the young guns on the team. They are the stars of the show, but they aren’t the only young one’s who are going to bring this Spain side to the next golden generation. The average age of the XI that de la Fuente started against Argentina was just over 26. There are players like Aymeric Laporte, and Rodri, and Unai Simon, and Mikel Merino and Fabian Ruiz who are 30 or older. There are also players like Pau Cubarsi, Pedro Porro, Marc Cucurella, Alex Baena and Yamal who have one, two or three World Cups still ahead.
Not to mention those that started the final on the bench. Your Gavis, your Pedris, your Nico Williams and your Jeremy Pinos who are all 24 or younger. Ferran Torres, the scorer of the World Cup winning goal, is just 26 by the way. This is a team that has been together for a long time and that is going to stay together for a long time. They are part of a system that has been instilled in them since they were young. Luis de la Fuente is a big part of that success, rising through the ranks of the Spanish national team, first with the U-19s, then the U-21s and then the U-23s.
Over the last four years, this team has won just about every tournament they have entered. They are creating a culture much like the one we saw from the Spain of the early 2000s. That is a scary thought when you think about how young some of these players are. Spain aren’t a team made up of stars. Spain is a team made up of pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly mesh perfectly into a championship side. They have stars, sure, but none of those stars are bigger than the team and that is why this team has had so much success in the last few years, and that’s why they should continue to have success as this golden generation of Spain continues to reign.
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