Spain’s ball worship delivers World Cup glory and a nation’s shared embrace

EAST RUTHERFORD – Spain went all the way around the footballing wheel on July 19, from silk to sludge, from purity to persistence, and still ended up exactly where they wanted to be – World Cup champions, with the ball at their feet and belief in their bones.

Their 1-0 victory over Argentina was not a wild departure from their identity but a muddy reaffirmation of it. They passed, probed, protected and pampered the ball as if it was a national treasure, refusing to panic as the Argentinians dug in and the clock ticked towards the end of extra time.

In the end, fittingly for a side built on the idea that no player is bigger than the whole, the winner came from the bench. It was set up by Nico Williams and scored by fellow substitute Ferran Torres, the third time in the knockout stages that a replacement had struck the decisive blow for Spain.

That, more than any glossy tactical diagram, said plenty about Luis de la Fuente’s side. This is not a team of soloists demanding the spotlight. It is an orchestra in which even the late arrivals know the tune by heart.

Spain finished with more than 60 per cent of possession, 12 shots on target and over twice as many completed passes as Argentina, who produced their first effort – off target – near the end of extra time.

It was domination, but not destruction. La Roja still had to sweat for it. Their familiar weakness, the absence of a classic centre-forward, was exposed by the number of chances they created but failed to finish.

Yet, if the lack of a ruthless striker remains their Achilles heel, it is about the only exposed part of a team otherwise wrapped in collective certainty.

Spain swept the individual awards, with Pau Cubarsi named Best Young Player, Unai Simon winning Best Goalkeeper while Rodri was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Only the Golden Boot escaped them, going to France’s Kylian Mbappe.

Even that felt appropriate. The Spaniards’ triumph was never about one hot boot. Their 14 goals in eight matches were scored via seven players and one own goal, echoing their European Championship success in 2024, when they scored a tournament-record 15 goals through 10 different players as well as an own goal.

The win over Argentina also stretched their unbeaten run over 90 minutes to 38 matches, moving them past Italy and underlining three years of dominance in international football.

It was a personal vindication for de la Fuente, once dismissed by Spanish media as Luis de la “Who”, after spending much of his coaching career in the Spanish football federation’s youth ranks.

Now the 65-year-old has turned that patient apprenticeship into the biggest prize in the game.

This Spain squad is also a reflection of the country itself, stitched together from different regions, accents and identities.

Players from the Basque Country like Mikel Oyarzabal, Simon and Mikel Merino share the stage with Borja Iglesias from Galicia, Torres from Valencia, Rodri from Madrid, Fabian Ruiz and Gavi from Andalusia and Pedri from the Canary Islands. 

Cubarsi and Marc Cucurella are two of the nine players born in Catalonia, while Lamine Yamal and Williams represent the success of immigration and a newer Spain.

The country’s richness has always rested in being made up of smaller nations, each with its own history. On July 19, those differences did not disappear. They simply stopped being obstacles.

Football achieved, for one night at least, what politics so often cannot. It made Spain feel whole. REUTERS