Familiarity breeds success for Spain

In December 2022, the Spanish men’s football team had reached a crossroads. They had been eliminated by Morocco in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, and the national coach Luis Enrique resigned as a result.

- Shahid Judge

A decade prior, their golden generation had won two European Championships with the 2010 World Cup in between, effectively raising the bar for what can be deemed a successful campaign for the team. By that standard, the defeat in Qatar marked a fifth consecutive failure at a major competition. One made worse by then Morocco coach Walid Regragui saying Spain went sideways more than forward.

Spain needed a new coach who could infuse energy into a team in danger of taking far too many steps back than any forward. The federation turned towards the most unexpected candidate. Luis de la Fuente. Aged 61 at the time, de La Fuente had never coached a senior international team. But in his first major campaign, he led Spain to the UEFA Nations League title in 2023, followed by the Euro 2024 crown. Now he will lead Spain as the former champions look to conquer a second World Cup title.