Spain has been drawn against Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde in Group H for the 2026 World Cup.
Luis de la Fuente’s side learned its opponents at Friday’s World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Spain will start their campaign after Cape Verde on June 15, before facing Saudi Arabia six days later and concluding their group against Uruguay on June 26.
The venues and kick-off times will be confirmed on Saturday when FIFA reveals the World Cup’s full match schedule beginning at noon ET (5 p.m. GMT).
Spain — seeded in Pot 1 — will be expected to advance from its group, especially with eight of 12 third-place teams progressing to the round of 32 in the World Cup’s new 48-team format.
The nation has, however, failed to progress through the group stage in two of its most recent seven tournaments, including in 2014, when Spain was the defending champion.
Despite being crowned European champion in 2008, 2012 and 2024, Spain has underperformed in the World Cup aside from its inaugural victory in 2010 — the only time since 1950 it progressed beyond the tournament’s quarter-final stage.
Spain is ranked first in the world by FIFA and has won 27 of its last 31 competitive matches, a run dating back to March 2023 that has seen it lose just once and included winning all seven matches on its way to winning Euro 2024.
Spain has already qualified for the 2030 World Cup, which they will co-host alongside Portugal and Morocco, a tournament in which Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will also host group-stage matches.
What is Spain’s World Cup pedigree?
For most of World Cup history, the Spanish would be viewed as potential ‘dark horses’, with squads of talented players that looked excellent on paper only to fall short once the tournament started.
That changed in 2010, when a golden generation including Xavi, Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso won the trophy thanks to Andres Iniesta’s dramatic late winner in extra time of the final against the Netherlands.
Since then, Spain has returned to underwhelming us — exiting in the group stage as reigning world and European champions in 2014 after losses to the Netherlands (5-1) and Chile (2-0), and were eliminated in the last 16 on penalties in 2018 (to hosts Russia) and 2022 (to neighbors Morocco).
How do Spain play?
De la Fuente has kept the possession-based style for which Spain are renowned, and which suits their many technically adept players. However, this current side get the ball forward quickly to their pacy wide attackers, rather than circulating it for long periods in deeper areas.
Another objective is aiming to regain possession quickly by collectively pressing opponents and not allowing them to settle into games.
It makes for an attractive team to watch. They have scored at least twice in each of their past 13 outings going back to October last year, while also keeping clean sheets in five of their six qualifiers.
Who is Spain’s key player?
Yamal scored on his senior Spain debut in September 2023, at 16 years and 57 days old, and quickly established himself as a global superstar.
Usually starting on the right of a three-man attack, the Barcelona forward is a superb dribbler, an excellent crosser and an accomplished finisher, as showcased by a tremendous long-range strike in the Euro 2024 semi-final victory against France.
The now 18-year-old missed the last four matches of Spain’s qualifying campaign due to a persistent groin problem, which has caused some friction between the national federation and his club.
When are the fixtures?
The answer is we don’t know yet.
FIFA has announced that, for the first time ever, the full tournament schedule won’t be confirmed on the same day as the draw itself.
Instead, FIFA president Gianni Infantino will preside over a second ceremony on Saturday, beginning at 12 p.m. ET (5 p.m. GMT), where the all-important when and where for each of the fixtures will be revealed.
FIFA says the game allocation process will aim to “ensure the best possible conditions for all teams and spectators while, where possible, enabling fans all over the world to watch their teams play live across different time zones.”
The final version of the game schedule will then be confirmed in March, once the inter-confederation playoffs and European playoffs have been completed and the final 48 tournament teams confirmed.