Spain arrive at Wembley on Saturday as reigning world and European champions, unbeaten in 38 matches, with head coach Luis de la Fuente taking charge for the 50th time. A win for England would end that run and hand De la Fuente only his third defeat in the job. It would also echo the last time Spain's dominance cracked -- the group-stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that followed their unprecedented run of winning Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 back to back.
According to ESPN's Graham Hunter, who has covered Spain through both golden eras, this generation is unlikely to suffer the same collapse. Since De la Fuente took over, Spain have won the 2023 Nations League, Euro 2024 and this year's World Cup. The scale of the ambition now being discussed around the squad is startling: winning next summer's Nations League, Euro 2028, the 2029 Nations League and the 2030 World Cup, which Spain will co-host.
Learning From 2014
Joan Capdevila, who played every minute of Spain's Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup campaigns bar a dead rubber, told ESPN he still doesn't fully understand how things fell apart after 2012. "What I'm still left asking to this day is how, between 2012 and 2014, things were allowed to degenerate and to break down within the Spain squad," he said. "That was crazy! The Clásicos were so full of nastiness and kicking and shoving that it impacted. By 2014 we'd almost have been better not going to Brazil. But that was also because it was the end of a cycle -- everything combined at once. Del Bosque was pretty much obliged to take those who'd won the 2012 Euros but it wasn't the same -- a sell-by date was arriving. We'd run out of gas."
De la Fuente's own start was rocky -- he lost his second match in charge, against Scotland at Hampden Park, and faced heavy media criticism before winning the 2023 Nations League final against Croatia. "They were tough months after that defeat in Scotland, but it made us better and tougher and stronger," he told UEFA. "We understood nothing would be given to us for free. After that Nations League win, the team changed. Everyone finally felt like we could win titles again... I told them: 'Gentlemen, we have proven that with this approach, this philosophy, we can win. Let's build, but do things even better.'"
The Production Line
Capdevila argues the real difference this time is depth, not star power. "By comparison with 2014, this Spain group now has plenty in the tank and I can envisage the winning going on. First, for the general age profile of the wider group of players, but most of all for the Spanish youth development system," he said. He also pointed to a tactical evolution: "We didn't have the wide wingers De la Fuente does in Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Yéremy Pino, Víctor Muñoz... So it's clear that the system has changed, but the philosophy is absolutely identical: Want the ball, hunt it, possession used intelligently, play for one another, work for one another, pressing, position, passion."
That production line runs through Spain's youth ranks. Eight players who started the 2021 Olympic final -- Unai Simón, Pedri, Marc Cucurella, Dani Olmo, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, Martín Zubimendi and Eric García -- went on to win this year's World Cup. Spain also won Olympic gold in 2025, and remain the all-time record winners at both Euro U21 and Euro U19 level.
When Rodri went off injured at 0-0 in the Euro 2024 final, Martín Zubimendi came on and, in De la Fuente's words after the match, showed why he could count on "the second-best player in the world in that position." Zubimendi filled that role for roughly a year while Rodri recovered, without Spain missing a beat. Capdevila sees the same pattern repeating: "Sergio Busquets, a super important part of our generation's success and playing style, eventually retires and, within no time at all, along comes Rodri then 'Zubi'. So, where's the next Rodri? I don't know for certain right now, but what I am certain of is someone out there in Spain is building him, training and developing the Rodri replacement."
A System, Not a Generation
Thierry Henry, speaking to CBS, framed Spain's success as structural rather than reliant on individuals. "They don't build or create individuals. They create teams. And so it doesn't matter who plays in it, they have a philosophy, or of seeing the game," he said, recalling facing a Spain group that won an Olympic final while also claiming the Euro U21 and Euro U19 titles at the same time. "Spanish players think one to two to three steps ahead. They don't just receive the ball and then start to think."
Iker Casillas, who lifted the World Cup as Spain captain in 2010, told Hunter that night he hoped his success would inspire the next generation. Capdevila, whose sons are now in the club system, says that wish has been realised: "My boys talk to me about how they want to win the World Cup in their careers. That's a generational change of mentality."
De la Fuente, contracted until 2032, describes his management style as built on explanation rather than command. "Coaches who are afraid to work like this are probably just letting their own insecurities get the better of them," he said. "Some people shy away from it because they're scared, believing that using authority and instilling fear will have a greater impact on a footballer than treating them with respect and talking to them rationally. I don't think so."
England, recent double Euro U21 champions with a solid if not golden senior tournament record, provide the first test of this new cycle. Moments after lifting the World Cup, one of De la Fuente's players reportedly asked him what was next to win. His answer, by his own account, came instantly: "The next game -- against England!"
