Spain dominates Europe and the world. And there are few better places to celebrate it than in the football cathedral.
La Roja had to wait until 1981 to get their first victory at Wembley. It was a friendly, when José Emilio Santamaría's team was preparing for the World Cup in Spain. A triumph especially celebrated by the national team: it broke the curse in La Catedral with goals from Satrústegui and Zamora, the night in which the La Roja players found out in the London locker room that Quini had been released in Zaragoza after 25 days kidnapped.
However, 37 years passed before La Roja claimed victory again at Wembley against England. This time in an official match, the day of Luis Enrique's debut as coach of the Spanish team: 1-2 with goals from Saúl Ñíguez and Rodrigo Moreno in September 2018.
Luis Enrique's cycle, which ended in Qatar 2022, gave way to Luis de la Fuente's Spain. And there seems to be no way to defeat her. Not even the legendary Wembley, this Saturday in a state of boiling water to receive the world champion, nor Thomas Tuchel's tough England led by Harry Kane, can handle a team that does not know (or wants) to relax. They don't even do it on the day the two stars debuted on the shirt (2-3).
Spain had debuted the first star in the Monumental stadium against Argentina in September 2010. From Buenos Aires to London, an abyss in football and attitude to show the world who was in the game. After the title in South Africa, the Federation organized the first friendly of Vicente del Bosque's boys against Messi's Albiceleste, in reconstruction after the departure of Diego Armando Maradona from the bench.
The problem was that Del Bosque's Spain was more focused on the celebration than on football. And what passed as a rumor was confirmed in 2018: Cristian Fabbiani, a former Argentine soccer player who played for River, Lanús and Newell's, among others, revealed that he had crossed paths with the Spanish delegation in a nightclub the night before the friendly at the Monumental. "They were on top of the table. They were all out of control. The most out of control was Pepe Reina. Do you remember the goals they scored against him at that moment? There you go. I think that in Tevez's goal, he fell alone," Fabbiani said in reference to Reina's slip on Argentina's second goal. The duel ended 4-1.
But De la Fuente's Spain was not up for distractions at Wembley. Much less when Lamine Yamal plays for the Ballon d'Or against Kane, but especially when the mark of 38 games without losing was at stake. Today there are 39. Precisely a streak that began in London when La Roja lost in a friendly against Colombia in March 2024 at the West Ham stadium. "You can always lose. We try not to be the ones who lose," Lamine recalled. And De la Fuente, accustomed to publicly betting on collective performance, opted to highlight individual talent: “Lamine's performance with us is exceptional, he does what each play and each interpretation of the game moment demands.” For Kane, however, it is not a question of name. It's a team. And he even seems to be satisfied: "We played against the world champions and the European champions. We measured up." “There's a reason they're the best in the world,” Gordon interjected.
England is not the only world champion team that cannot beat De la Fuente's Spain. Few data better summarize the last two years of La Roja: nine duels against different world champion teams, nine victories. Italy in the group stage and Germany surrendered to La Roja in Euro 2024. In the World Cup, they defeated Uruguay in the first round and Argentina in the final. Few rivals suffered the power of La Roja like the powerful France of Mbappé, Dembélé and company: always in the semifinals, Spain eliminated them in the Euro 2024, in the Nations 2025 and in the 2026 World Cup. England is the last on the list, the final in Berlin and this Saturday at Wembley.
"It is a fact that highlights the trajectory that this generation of footballers is making, these players are exceptional. The numbers are there, they are objectives. It is very difficult to do what this team is doing, very difficult," De la Fuente remarked. The coach looks at the locker room. Nothing strange. However, the coach does not usually fail in his decisions. With Nico Williams out of shape, De la Fuente's bet on Gavi as a winger went wrong, but he quickly rectified with Baena. A formula that exploded again in London.
“It is very difficult to beat us because we are a team that attacks and defends together as a team, we are going to enjoy this whole journey,” said the Atlético player, who signed the temporary 2-2 at Wembley. “There is great football ability in this team to make the opponent's offensive actions very difficult, defend hard and then deploy as we deploy in the offensive facet,” added De la Fuente after the victory against England. The coach has built a versatile team, capable of dominating games with and without the ball. “It doesn't bother us that the opponent has the ball, we are fast, we don't mind playing on the counterattack, we have to know our role in each game and exploit it,” Lamine explained.
