$GT Spain

The team led by de la Fuente has clearly come back to life—essentially, for the first time since the “golden period” of 2008–2012. True, after wins in the Nations League 2022 and, especially, at Euro 2024, a decline followed. And so, at the World Cup, one of the favorites kicked off the tournament with an unpleasant surprise, failing to score against Cabo Verde. However, then the debutant also managed to shock many more.

Meanwhile, the Europeans continued to do their job. After that, they only kept scoring and practically didn’t concede—only in the quarterfinal versus Belgium was it a tough match, ending 2:1, with the winning goal scored at the very end of the game. And against the French in the semifinal, much of the outcome came down to an optional penalty that Yamal practically won out of nowhere. The opponent still couldn’t beat Unai Simón, and as for another goal, after a great combination, the Euro champion scored and headed to the final of a new major tournament.