Despite establishing themselves as one of Europe’s great footballing nations, Spain had to wait until 2010 to make their first World Cup semi-final.
The wait was worth it. They defeated Germany 1-0 thanks to a Carles Puyol goal in the 73rd minute, then won their first World Cup final — 1-0 over the Netherlands thanks to an extra-time winner from Andres Iniesta.
Since the tournament in South Africa, it’s been disappointment for Spain. They crashed out in the group stage in 2014, then lost in the round of 16 in 2018 and 2022.
Today is their fifth World Cup quarter-final appearance, with the others coming in 1934, 1986, 1994, 2002 and of course 2010.
They also finished fourth in 1950, when the tournament was decided with a four-team round robin. They fell short of qualifying for the semi-finals from the second group phase of the 1982 edition, which Spain hosted.
