2026 World Cup: The Depth of the Spanish Team and the Importance of Teamwork

When talking about Spain at the World Cup, many point to Lamine Yamal as the key to success. However, winning a World Cup is not done alone, especially this one, which will have an extra game and, probably, extensions in the knockout stages, in addition to the heat and travel. Therefore, the most important thing for La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente is that, together with Lamine Yamal, he has the necessary team and squad for next month.

When Spain won the 2024 European Championship, De la Fuente used all 23 outfield players during the seven games. Everyone will have to be ready this time too. As players, we always want to participate in every match, but in a tournament like this, you never know when the crucial moment will be to make a difference. For Mikel Oyarzabal, at Euro 2024, that moment came when he came on in the second half and scored the winning goal in the final against England. His 'golden goal' was the only one he scored in the tournament, and although Oyarzabal played in every game, he only started once - in the final group game against Albania, when we had already secured first place. But when he was needed, he was ready and since then he hasn't stopped scoring for Spain.

He is 29 years old and is not celebrated like Kylian Mbappé or Harry Kane as one of the best center forwards in the world, but he had a strong season with Real Sociedad in La Liga and has an incredible record with the national team. I've heard people say that Spain lack a truly elite number nine, but with Oyarzabal, we have someone who we know can score decisive goals at the right times. We value you, even if you are not seen as a superstar by others. In the past, he played more wide, but in recent years, he has transformed into more of a striker who can move in both directions, making runs behind defenders or dropping back to connect play. Oyarzabal can still position himself in lane when necessary, finding the spaces left when teams focus on Yamal, and his movement and intelligence make him extremely effective. He's doing a great job.


After two goals and an assist in the first half against Saudi Arabia, he will be full of confidence, and I like our other attacking options too. Ferran Torres wasn't as accurate when he came on for Oyarzabal in that game, but I still feel he's in good form, while Borja Iglesias offers a different striker profile. Iglesias is someone people may know a little less about because he doesn't play in the Champions League with Celta Vigo, but if you've seen him play you'll understand why he's important to the squad. He can act more as a reference man, occupying the defenders. He hasn't been used yet at this World Cup, but I'm sure at some point there will be a game where Spain will need his qualities, depending on the opposition.

I know exactly what I'm talking about because I had to mark it during my last game as a professional less than a month ago in Vigo. Normally, when we talk about Spain, we focus more on how good we are offensively, but when analyzing our squad, I see important players across the board. I see a solid and compact team, which has not yet conceded goals. There will be challengesmuch tougher than against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, but I feel we are good enough defensively to win this World Cup when we face the stronger teams.

Unai Simon has been with Spain for so long and has all the experience you could ask for. We have incredible options in goal, with David Raya and Joan Garcia, but I understand why Simon is number one. He is a great character, as well as being very experienced in big tournaments. If Spain really want to go far in this competition, they will need to be consistent and solid in defense, so having a goalkeeper who can convey confidence to the entire team will be very important. At the back, Aymeric Laporte is another player who has the necessary personality in the dressing room and on the field, and our captain, Rodri, is also a great player for these same reasons. Rodri can dictate the game - he is physically strong and controls everything, and with his quality, he is the link between defense and attack, with and without the ball. How good we are defensively is linked to the possession we have - the more we have the ball, the more control we have. Against Cape Verde we were committing more fouls when we lost the ball, which meant we were less fluid in winning it back and attacking, but against Saudi Arabia it was different. We recovered the ball further up the field, which is important to stop counterattacks - the intensity was really good and left us less exposed. This pressure is a key aspect of Spain's game. We put a lot of players in the opponent's half, which is a risk, so you need to try to recover the ball as quickly as possible.

These guys I'm talking about are all leaders, but of course the person they look to the most is the coach. Many of the players have been with De la Fuente for a long time, playing for Spain's youth teams, so he is like a father figure to them. He knows them very well and they also know that he will be calm and supportive. This again is key in a long tournament like this, where you know there will be some games where you won't be at your best. We already saw this with the draw against Cape Verde, which no one expected, but the way the team reacted against Saudi Arabia was exactly what we needed, and now we need more of the same against Uruguay to guarantee victory in the group. The cast is very united and you need that bond to face the challenges when a difficult result like this happens. This is the key to reaching the final stages. Winning the Euros under De la Fuente two years ago gave us the belief, but you can see the team is still improving and growing together now. Some players arrived at this World Cup needing to regain their fitness, including Lamine Yamal. The team is better with him on the field, and the more he plays, the more expectations grow, but we also know that everyone else will play their role.

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