Spain arrive in North America as reigning European champions and unbeaten in 33 matches, and Marc Cucurella will start at left-back as the side that won Euro 2024 begins its World Cup campaign.
It is why searches for spain fc have spiked this week: the tournament is about to begin and Spain travel as one of the favourites, drawn in Group H with Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay and set to play Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday 15 June at 5pm.
The unbeaten figure is the clearest proof of form. Spain have not lost since March 2023 and carry a 33-match run that spans qualifiers and friendlies; they lifted the European crown two years ago in Germany. Luis de la Fuente, who stepped up from the Under-21s to take charge, has overseen a qualifying campaign that began with a 3-0 away win at Bulgaria, included a 6-0 victory away to Turkey, and saw Spain beat Georgia both home and away before a 2-2 draw at home to Turkey in their final fixture. Spain secured their World Cup place comfortably on superior goal difference.
The old pedigree matters now because this team enters a 48-nation tournament with a memory of global success: Spain won the World Cup in 2010, when their knockout march was defined by tight, single-goal wins—four 1-0 victories culminating in a 1-0 final against the Netherlands. That history is the context fans and pundits bring to any evaluation of Spain’s chances.
But there is a clear mismatch between expectation and star power. Many tip Spain to win the World Cup, yet this squad lacks the same constellation of household names that defined the 2008–2012 golden generation; for the first time there is not a single Real Madrid player in the roster. That absence underlines a logical question: can structure and momentum make up for fewer headline stars when the pressure mounts on football’s biggest stage?
Into that question steps Marc Cucurella. A mainstay at left-back since the Euros triumph, he assisted the winning goal in the Euro 2024 final, has 23 caps, and scored his first Spain goal earlier in the qualifying cycle away to Bulgaria. De la Fuente’s system leans on full-backs who can defend and supply the attack; Cucurella’s role will be both defensive anchor and a creative outlet, an on-field answer to Spain’s broader identity without a galaxy of superstars.
The immediate test is clear: Spain open against Cape Verde on Monday 15 June at 5pm in Atlanta, then face Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on Sunday 21 June at 5pm, and close the Group H phase against Uruguay in Guadalajara on Saturday 27 June at 1am. Those fixtures will show whether an unbeaten run and a continental title translate into tournament authority when every match matters and margins are small.
Spain’s run and their Euro crown make them one of the leading contenders on paper; what remains unresolved is whether cohesion and tactical balance will carry them through decisive moments that, in 2010, were settled by narrow margins. If Spain are to convert form into a third World Cup, much of the work will fall to players like Marc Cucurella to impose that balance on games where individual stars are often the difference.
