"If we think that being favourites guarantees anything, we're on the wrong track... it guarantees nothing!" That's Luis de la Fuente, Spain's manager, on his team's status heading into the 2026 World Cup. He's not deflecting or playing humble. He genuinely means it.
Spain arrive in North America as the most talked-about side in the tournament — reigning European champions, winners of Euro 2024 with a brand of football that made other nations quietly rethink their entire setups. De la Fuente embraces the favourites tag, but with both eyes open.
"There are eight or 10 teams where you say, 'They're absolutely top-class teams'," he said. "As good as ours? Of course! Do we feel as strong as them at this point? Of course we do! But that guarantees nothing."
That's not false modesty. The expanded 48-team format, spread across Canada, Mexico and the United States, creates a tournament like no other — long travel days, intense heat, humidity, shifting time zones. De la Fuente sees it less as a football competition and more as a physical attrition test wrapped around one. Spain's title odds will be shaped as much by fitness management as by Lamine Yamal's left foot.
Injury concerns are easing — but De la Fuente isn't rushing anyone
Yamal and Nico Williams both picked up hamstring injuries in mid-April. Mikel Merino has been out since January following surgery on a stress fracture in his right foot. Three of Spain's most important attackers, all in some form of a race to be fit.
De la Fuente says he expects all three to be available for the Group H opener against Cape Verde on June 15. But available doesn't mean starting.
"That doesn't mean they'll play, though. We might decide to give them less playing time in that first match, or none at all."
Smart management — and a signal that Spain will treat their 26-man squad as a genuine rotation pool rather than a fixed XI with depth behind it. The format demands it. "We will rotate as we see fit at any given moment," De la Fuente said. "My biggest concern right now is that no injuries should occur."
Spain's approach: rotation, enjoyment, and no swagger
The Euro triumph raised expectations in a specific way — not just because Spain won, but because of how they won. Relentless pressing, youth, creativity. The pressure to replicate that style is real. De la Fuente doesn't dodge it.
"We take it all in our stride and that's one of our strengths... there's another guiding principle: we go out there to enjoy ourselves, to do what we love."
Whether that philosophy survives a gruelling 48-team tournament played across three countries and multiple climate zones is the real question. If Spain's key players stay fit, the betting markets have them right. If that rotation plan gets forced by injuries rather than chosen by De la Fuente, the picture changes fast.
"It's going to be a very unique tournament, with high demands and little time for recovery. A lot of fatigue, long journeys, intense heat... Fundamentally, it's going to take its toll physically."
He's not wrong. And he knows it.
