​The year was 2010, and a Spain side packed with star power surged into the World Cup final, ultimately clinching victory in a brutal encounter with the Netherlands thanks to an extra-time winner from Andres Iniesta. Fast forward 16 years, and a more subdued yet equally efficient Spain team has again reached football’s pinnacle. The current crop, though not as flashy in name, are as determined as ever to match the heralded achievements of their golden generation and lift the trophy again on Sunday, 19 July.
There are clear parallels between the two campaigns. Both squads entered their respective World Cups on the back of a European Championship triumph two years prior. For the 2010 team that lifted the trophy in South Africa, only three of the starting XI had not been part of the Euro 2008 success. In the current setup, only two players who started Tuesday’s semi-final against France were not part of the Germany 2024 winning squad.
Interestingly, Spain’s 2026 squad, totaling 26 players, has a higher average age than Vicente del Bosque’s 2010 group—27.8 compared with 26.7—yet they are less experienced on the international stage, averaging 33 caps per player against 56 for the 2010 side. Spain had not won a World Cup knockout game since their 2010 triumph in South Africa before embarking on the current run. The vaunted 37-match unbeaten streak under de la Fuente is remarkable, equalling Italy’s world-best record, even if it excludes a penalty-shootout defeat to Portugal in last year’s Nations League final. This Spain side is also the first to keep six clean sheets across a single World Cup tournament.
So how do the two XIs stack up? BBC Sport breaks it down.
Iker Casillas (2010) versus Unai Simón (2026)
Age: 29.1 vs 29.1
Caps: 110 vs 65
Remarkably, Casillas was only 14 days older than Simón when he played in the World Cup final. The legendary Real Madrid goalkeeper is Spain’s second-most capped player after Sergio Ramos, while Simón has become de la Fuente’s preferred choice. He recently set the record for the most consecutive World Cup games without conceding in regulation play (six), a streak that includes a match from the 2022 tournament.
Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila versus Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella
Age: 24.3 and 32.4 vs 26.8 and 28.0
Caps: 66 and 51 vs 23 and 31
After seasons of turmoil at Tottenham and Chelsea, Porro and Cucurella surprised many with their performances at this World Cup, proving their competitive quality on North American soil. They have far fewer international caps than Ramos and Capdevila had in 2010, yet they have delivered consistently at the highest level this year. Ramos, who captained the side and collected major trophies with Real Madrid, enjoyed a glittering arc, while Capdevila, though less celebrated at the outset, collected Euros and World Cup medals through persistence and versatility.
The 2010 edition featured a lineup anchored by veteran leaders and seasoned winners, with Casillas, Ramos, Puyol, Piqué, and a cohesive midfield and attacking unit that thrived on balance and experience. The 2026 cohort, while younger in some respects and leaner in international caps, demonstrates the same blueprint: a backbone of proven performers at the highest level, complemented by emerging talents who have seized their moments on the world stage.
As the journey toward the final progresses, the comparison underlines how Spain’s identity—defensive solidity, patient buildup, precise pressing, and a talent pool that blends enduring experience with fresh energy—remains intact. The challenge for de la Fuente’s charges is to translate that identity into the same silverware-lifting accomplishment that marked the turn of the previous era, and to do so in a manner that satisfies a nation hungry for another moment of footballing glory.