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The Spain national football team, commonly referred to as (Spanish for "The Selection"), is the national football team of Spain and is controlled by the .

Spain has underachieved in the World Cup, with their best finish being fourth place in 1950 (while at the end of World War II, international interest in the tournament was lacking and only 13 teams participated, with a final group stage, rather than knock-out finals, deciding the top four placings) despite often being among the pre-tournament favorites. Their current FIFA ranking is 7th. They did win the gold medal when they hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria.

History

Early Years

Spain made their international debut in 1920 at the Olympic Games in Belgium and came away with the silver medal. They played their first home international in 1921, beating Belgium 2-0 in Bilbao. They also became the first non-British side to beat England when they won a friendly in Madrid 4-3 in 1929.

European Champions

In 1962 José Villalonga was appointed coach of Spain and in 1964 they won the European Championship. With a squad that included Luis Suárez, Francisco Gento, Josep Fuste and José Ángel Iribar, Spain beat Romania, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the qualifying rounds before hosting the semi-finals and final. In the semi-final Spain beat Hungary 2-1. In the final beat the USSR 2-1 in front of a crowd of 125,000 at the Bernabéu. Jesus María Pereda put Spain ahead after just six minutes but they needed a late Marcelino Martínez header to win it after Galimzian Khusainov equalised with a free-kick.

Euro 2004

At Euro 2004, Spain were drawn into group A with Portugal, Russia and Greece. The Spanish team were touted as heavy favorites for the 2004 crown by the European media. They were also expected heavy favorites to qualify from their group. On June 12th, Spain expectedly defeated Russia, 1-0. Four days later Spain faced Greece. Determined to win, Spain led the match until Greece scored an equalizer and the match ended 1-1. In their last game against Portugal, Spain needed to win to qualify for the quarterfinals. However a goal from Nuno Gomes faded Spain's hopes of advancing. The same day Greece were defeated 2-1 by Russia but moved ahead to claim second place on goal difference. As a result Spain were eliminated from Euro 2004. Portugal and Greece both went all the way to the final in which Greece beat Portugal to claim the title.

World Cup record

European Championship record

Forthcoming fixtures

Famous past players

Current players

WC06 indicates player included in 2006 World Cup squad.

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Strikers

2006 World Cup

For squad, see 2006 FIFA World Cup (squads).

2006 World Cup Information

Spain won their opening game of group H over Ukraine in a comfortable 4-0 result. 2 goals from David Villa and one each for Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso made up Spain's 4. The first penalty of the tournament was awarded after Vladislav Vaschuk was sent off for pulling on Torres. Spain won their second game against Tunisia 3-1. A goal in the 12th minute through Mnari Jaouhar put Tunisia ahead, but Spain finally scored through Raúl in the 71st min and Fernando Torres in the 76th min. Fernando Torres scored from the penalty spot in injury time to get his second goal in the game. Spain beat Saudi Arabia by 1-0 in Kaiserslautern on the 23 June. However Spain lost 3-1 in the Round of 16 to France. Spain and Brazil shares the 2006 FIFA Fair Play Award.

Starting Line-Up and Formation

Player records

Most capped Spain players

As of June 19, 2006, the ten players with the most caps for Spain are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Andoni Zubizarreta 1985-1998 126 100 (Conceded)
2 Raul González* 1996- 99 44
3 Fernando Hierro 1989-2002 89 29
4 José Antonio Camacho 1975-1988 81 0
5 Rafael Gordillo Vázquez 1978-1988 75 3
6 Emilio Butragueño 1984-1992 69 26
7 Luis Arconada 1977-1985 68 62 (Conceded)
8 José Miguel González Martín 1985-1992 66 21
9 Luis Enrique 1991-2002 62 12
10 Miguel Ángel Nadal 1991-2002 62 3

Top Spain goalscorers

# Player Career Goals (Caps)
1 Raul González 1996- 44 (99)
2 Fernando Hierro 1989-2002 29 (89)
3 Fernando Morientes 1998- 26 (43)
4 Emilio Butragueño 1984-1992 26 (89)
5 Alfredo Di Stéfano 1957-1961 23 (31)
6 Julio Salinas 1986-1996 23 (56)
7 José Miguel González Martín 1985-1992 21 (66)
8 Telmo Zarraonaindía 1945-1951 20 (20)
9 Isidro Lángara 1932-1936 17 (12)
10 Luis Regueiro 1927-1936 16 (25)
11 José Martínez Sánchez 1966-1978 16 (41)
12 Carlos Alonso González 1975-1985 15 (56)
13 Luis Suárez 1957-1972 14 (23)
14 Estanislao Basora 1949-1957 13 (22)
15 Fernando Torres 2004- 13 (34)
16 Julen Guerrero 1993- 13 (41)
17 Joseba Etxeberría 1997- 12 (53)
18 Luis Enrique 1991-2002 12 (62)
19 Ladislao Kubala 1953-1961 11 (19)
20 Alfonso Pérez Muñoz 1992-2000 11 (38)
21 Amancio Amaro 1962-1974 11 (42)

Selected Managers

External links

European national football teams | Spain national football team

منتخب إسبانيا لكرة القدم | Španělská fotbalová reprezentace | Spanische Fußballnationalmannschaft | Hispaania jalgpallikoondis | Selección nacional de fútbol de España | Équipe d'Espagne de football | 에스파냐 축구 국가대표팀 | Tim nasional sepak bola Spanyol | Nazionale di calcio della Spagna | נבחרת ספרד בכדורגל | Spānijas futbola izlase | Spanyol labdarúgó-válogatott | Spaans voetbalelftal | サッカースペイン代表 | Reprezentacja Hiszpanii w piłce nożnej | Seleção Espanhola de Futebol | Echipa naţională de fotbal a Spaniei | Сборная Испании по футболу | Španielske národné futbalové mužstvo | Фудбалска репрезентација Шпаније | Espanjan jalkapallomaajoukkue | Spaniens herrlandslag i fotboll | Đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Tây Ban Nha | İspanya Milli Futbol Takımı | 西班牙國家足球隊

 

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