Spain return home for parade in front of 2 million, with World Cup, all-conquering identity
Winning team, who are greeted in Madrid by almost two million people including royals and prime minister, are apex of a now-dominant system
Spain won the World Cup on Sunday by dethroning Argentina 1-0, but the victory in New Jersey has also taken Spanish football to a level of its own.
As the team returned home on Monday, with an estimated crowd of almost two million on hand to greet them through the streets of Madrid, their win added to the nation’s long list of recent triumphs across men’s, women’s and youth competitions, highlighting the dominance of a system that has stuck to a tactical identity and the development of collective talent.
The men’s team, whose 26 players and coaching staff met the country’s royals and then Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, are also the current European champions and Olympic gold medallists, and have reached the Nations League final twice, winning it once.
The women’s squad, meanwhile, are the defending World Cup champions and two-time Women’s Nations League winners. They also reached the final of the 2025 European Championships.
Spain are the first nation to hold both the men’s and women’s World Cup titles at the same time and are the only country with two men’s World Cup triumphs this century. The nation have also won several youth tournaments in recent years with both the men’s and women’s teams.
The men’s senior squad have been racking up titles since they were gradually revamped after the demise of a golden generation that won the nation’s first World Cup in 2010, with the likes of Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Piqué.