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NEW YORK – Spain has the opportunity to accomplish something no nation has ever achieved.
If it beats defending champions Argentina on Sunday in the World Cup final, its men’s and women’s national teams will simultaneously hold the sport’s greatest trophy.
The German men and women have each won two World Cups, but never simultaneously. Similar feats have occurred in other sports, including the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams winning national championships in 2004 and 2014, the USA Basketball men and women winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams winning gold at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
Spain – whose women’s team won their first World Cup title in 2023 – now has the opportunity to set a new standard for sustained dominance on football’s biggest stage.
Spain celebrates winning the 2023 World Cup. (Photo by Li Yibo/Xinhua via Getty Images)
So how did Spain get here? What made it stand out from the rest of the world? What does he do better than everyone else?
“It’s the only country that starts a philosophy and an identity at a young age, and they all do the same things starting at age 9, both men and women,” U.S. women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd told me. Now a FOX Sports analyst, Lloyd played against Spain during her career and saw first-hand how the program evolved into a powerhouse.
“They focus first on technical excellence and on their positional play, their short passing, their patience, their development – all these different things. And I think for several years they didn’t have incredible success, but found ways to achieve it with the way they played.”
The World Cup is only part of the story. Spain’s superiority extended in almost all major competitions. The women’s national team won Euro 2025, while Barcelona – the club that essentially forms the backbone of the team – has won three of the last four Women’s Champions League titles.
The men’s team enters Sunday’s final as reigning European champions and Olympic gold medalists. Twenty of the 26 players in Spain’s World Cup squad took part in one or both triumphs, proof that this success has been years in the making.
For many of these players, the foundations were laid years ago at La Masia, Barcelona’s famous academy that has long been considered one of the best in the world when it comes to developing young talent. This is where Lionel Messi arrived at the age of 13 before becoming arguably the greatest player in history.
Lamine Yamal competes for the ball with France’s Maxence Lacroix during the 2026 World Cup semi-final. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The academy’s legacy extends beyond Messi, however. Nine alumni will be on the field for the World Cup final on Sunday: Messi for Argentina and Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Olmo, Alejandro Grimaldo, Marc Cucurella and Víctor Muñoz for Spain. The viral photo of Messi bathing baby Yamal has become a symbol of the passing of the torch, but a deeper connection is that both were shaped by the same developmental system.
The academy opened its doors to residents in 2021 and its pipeline has already produced many of Spain’s biggest stars, including three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, two-time winner Alexia Putellas, Clàudia Pina, Ona Batlle and many more.
Aitana Bonmatí during the 2023 FIFA World Cup final against England in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by José Breton/Action Pics/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The familiarity and continuity built throughout this journey are part of what made these teams successful.
“We did it with discipline, with being organized, with sacrifice, with commitment, with effort,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said when asked how his team managed to beat France in a third consecutive semi-final of a major tournament last week. “I think that’s what we do best as Spanish footballers is interpreting and reading the game. They know how to behave in the defensive and offensive phases and in midfield.
“And that’s the fruit of our work in the academies: all the coaches in Spain, we really appreciate what we’re doing at this level. And it’s another example that, although we’re happy, we want more. And we want to win this World Cup and win this title. That would be a really incredible achievement.”
And it’s not just the players coming through the youth system, but the coaches too. De la Fuente spent almost a decade coaching and winning with Spain’s U-19, U-21 and U-23 programs before being named manager of the senior team in 2022. Even Jorge Vilda, who managed Spain at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, coached the senior team for eight years after winning titles at youth level. He was then fired in 2023 amid the fallout from the Luis Rubiales scandal.
“There is something to be said even for coaches who are trained in this philosophy and identity and working from youth level themselves,” Lloyd said. “You just continue to improve as a coach, just like as a player you progress as you move up the ranks.
“I think it has enormous significance. I just don’t know that it could be replicated anywhere else in the world. It would be very interesting to see. I think we [the U.S.] don’t do that. Each coach I had had a slightly different flavor and finesse in their coaching. Of course, we have that American mentality and DNA of being physical, courageous and determined to win. But you can’t really look at our structure as a whole and say, “Oh, that’s exactly how the United States plays.” » »
At the time, Spain was known for its “tiki taka” style and short, intricate passes that many tried to imitate. This has evolved into more progressive passing, finding ways to be clinical and punish teams in front of goal, as well as playing more vertically and getting in behind.
“They will kill you with 1,000 possession passes,” Lloyd said before referring to Spain’s second goal against France in the World Cup semi-final. The combination of Pedro Porro and Olmo and the quick passing sequence was quintessential Spain before Porro found the back of the net to give his team a 2-0 lead.
“Their movement isn’t really about being in sync. It’s about knowing where the next pass or two should be, and they all know what to do, and it’s really amazing,” Lloyd continued. “I think this is probably the most complete team of this World Cup. The last match [against France] was a true masterclass.
“And the second goal, it’s only taught from a system and a philosophy that has been developed over years. It doesn’t just happen when you get into the national team and start doing passing patterns.”
Could this be the start of a dynasty? If the men win on Sunday and the women can make back-to-back appearances at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil next summer, the answer is a resounding yes.
